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Mi Pueblo

2010-09-03T14:38:00.000-04:00

esto es como se veia mi pueblo antes.

FBI Opens Investigation Into AT&T's iPad User Security Blunder

2010-06-11T09:23:00.000-04:00

The New York Times today reported that the FBI has started an investigation into the AT&T leak that allowed a group to derive the email addresses of over 114,000 iPad 3G users. That group, which calls itself Goatse Security (after an old internet meme I will do you all the favor of not describing), does not seem to be involved.

"The F.B.I. is aware of these possible computer intrusions and has opened an investigation to address the potential cyberthreat," said Jason Pack, a supervisory special agent with the F.B.I.’s news media office.

The leak sparked a huge controversy, helped along by Gawker's original reporting, but the threat itself is fairly minor. The only information that could be gained is the list of email addresses, which is not particularly hidden information to begin with (many of these names are journalists or public figures who used publicly available work email addresses). AT&T closed the hole within 24 hours, and many, including myself and Gizmodo's John Herrman, downplayed the seriousness of the leak.

...keep reading at Fast Company

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I can't wait to go swimming / fishing / boating this summer (thanks, BP)

2010-06-10T09:38:00.000-04:00

London, Jun 10: British Petroleum (BP) plans to burn some of the oil it collects from the spill at Gulf of Mexico, as they does not have another ship properly equipped to process and store the unrefined oil.

The containment dome collects oil from the gushing underwater well but as the cap nears the capacity, the British global energy company cannot find the means to dispose the oil.

So the company plans to use a mobile drilling vessel, Q4000 to burn some of the oil collected, 5000 feet below the Gulf's surface. Company informed that it has a rig armed with a device which will turn oil into vapor and burn it without creating visible smoke, on Wednesday, Jun 9. The company says that the flames would not endanger other vessels.

"Until we do some other things, this is our only option to basically get rid of some of the oil," said the BP spokesman, Roy Viator. He also said that the company decided to burn the oil as Q4000 does not have the equipment to process or store the oily mixture.

...keep reading at OneIndia News

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iPhone's killer feature? The price.

2010-06-08T15:34:00.001-04:00

Apple and AT&T continue their two-pronged assault on the mobile market with aggressive price points on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. With prices starting at $99, it puts Apple at a price advantage over competing models.

The new iPhone 4 will be offered at the same price points as the out-going iPhone 3GS. The 16GB iPhone 4 will cost $199 and the 32GB iPhone 4 will cost $299. The comparable iPhone 3GS models were at those same price points.

AT&T is doing its best this year to avoid any confusion about who is eligible for those prices. This year, it has basically said that (nearly) all iPhone customers can upgrade to the iPhone 4 and still pay only the $199/$299 price points. (Full retail prices are $599 and $699, respectively.) That's much more generous than AT&T was last year, when it used some arbitrary scale to determine who was eligible and who wasn't. (It boiled down to how much users spent each month on their wireless bill.)

AT&T explained, "The reason we're doing it is we recognize the commitment our current iPhone customers have made to us. We listened to people last year and took steps to make the process better. And we built on it this year by expanding further the approach."

This move by AT&T does little to soften the blow it recently levied against smartphone customers when AT&T decided to alter its data plans. However, it will encourage current iPhone customers to upgrade sooner rather than later.

The $99 price point on the iPhone 3GS (8GB) is perhaps most compelling. The 3GS is a very solid phone, and it will get ...

...keep reading at InformationWeek

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Forget #iPhone4, here's what Steve Jobs didn't mention during his #WWDC speech

2010-06-08T10:56:00.001-04:00

Today's WWDC speech by Steve Jobs was in some ways, surprising. Despite a veritable armful of rumors, Steve mainly talked about a handful of tech, with emphasis on the new iPhone 4. So what did he leave out, and when may it come true anyway?

New Mac Minis

The Mac Mini is a much-beloved little computer, widely use as a home theater device and even as a server workhorse (due to its petite size and reasonable pricing). So why didn't Apple lavish any WWDC love on their smallest Mac? Strong rumors hinted at a big refresh with HDMI connectivity, after all.

Because the Mini is not a high profile world-beating device, like the iPhone or iPad, it's not high on Apple's priority list and simply isn't going to garner many headlines online or in the traditional press. Apple probably didn't want to water down the excitement about the iPhone 4 by announcing other new hardware. (Leaks have already muffled a bit of the thunder around the new iPhone as it is.)

When will we hear this news? Soon. We think it'll happen, and Apple will just slip out a special press release with some Jobs quotes and a splashy new Web page to advertise it.

HTML5, in the shadows

Jobs did mention HTML5 briefly during his address. But it was literally a mention in passing, and he didn't even play up the new promotional HTML5-ready Apple demo page. Instead Jobs noted HTML5 is one "platform" the company supports, an "open, uncontrolled platform that is forged and defined by standards alone." Apple is "fully behind" it, and its browsers are "in the lead" in supporting it. Apple's second platform is the "curated" iPhone OS (now iOS) for comparison.

Will Apple hit the news with HTML5? Possibly not in a special event, unless you're talking about a dedicated Jobs blog. Apple thinks its support for HTML5 is now self-sustaining in terms of news and media coverage, and probably didn't want to bring any hint of the Apple versus Adobe "war" into the Apple WWDC event.

iTunes in the cloud

Not a peep about iTunes during Steve's speech, which may be a surprise to some who were expecting news about a move to cloud-based storage and content streaming (possibly using tech from Lala, the streaming music platform that Apple recently acquired). The only mention of iTunes is in the new iPhone's specs page on Apple.com, where it's noted the device needs "iTunes 9.2" whereas the current version is 9.1.1.

...keep reading at Fast Company

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How to use LinkedIn with business savvy

2010-06-04T17:15:00.000-04:00

When Lewis Howes crushed his wrist, along with his dream of making his fortune playing football, and ended up bedridden on his sister's couch with no college degree and no job, he could have made best friends with Ben & Jerry and whiled away the hours watching TV.

Instead, he spent six to eight hours a day experimenting with LinkedIn — tweaking his profile and learning the ins and outs, often through trial and error. After he was able to get up and about, he cut back to about three hours a day and kept on learning.

Sound like a waste of time? Nope. We're not talking about Facebook here. Howes wasn't posting pictures of the people who came to sign his cast and taking quizzes to find out which Disney princess he's most like. He was doing business and growing into a business pro.

"I believe that LinkedIn is the No. 1 social-networking medium on the planet today ... for anyone looking to build their business," Howes told participants in the Social Media Success Summit on Tuesday afternoon.

For Howes, LinkedIn has been just that — and he says it can do the same for you, too.

"Start using it aggressively every day and testing and tweaking to see what works for you," he suggests.

Luckily, you won't have to spend quite as many hours learning LinkedIn as Howes did, because he's happy to share what he learned, not only at SMSS, but with co-author Frank Agin in their book "LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World's Largest Professional Networking Website."

...keep reading at SmartBlog

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EXCLUSIVE: @McDonalds (MCD) airs their first gay commercial

2010-06-03T18:19:00.000-04:00

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So What Do You Do, Samir Husni, Mr. Magazine?

2010-05-27T20:37:00.003-04:00

Husni shares his take on monetizing digital content and the outlook for print publications.

If print is dead, Samir Husni has been working in a mausoleum. Running a $30,000 annual tab for his magazine collection, the issues are overflowing from his three storage units and onto his office floor and couch at the University of Mississippi, where he educates the next wave of journalists and runs the Magazine Innovation Center.

From his first comic book at age 8, Husni's passion for print grew to the point where he was publishing a daily paper from his bedroom in Lebanon, writing his own news stories and using candle wax to imprint the ink from old newspaper images. When he set out to earn his Ph.D. in magazine journalism 30 years ago, there was no such thing. When he wanted to turn his magazine research into a book on which publications succeeded and failed, his peers said, "Didn't you do this last year?" Husni recalls complaining to his wife, "They just don't get it." She said, "Why don't you put it in a book and just send it to the industry?" He pitched the idea to Jim Autry, then president of Meredith Publishing, and he bit. Within two weeks of publication, every copy was gone, and he became a household name -- as Mr. Magazine, a moniker from a student who couldn't pronounce "Husni." "At the end of the semester, he gave me a plaque," says Husni. In 1989, The New York Times ran a photo of his desk in a profile story, and the name stuck. "I figured, if everybody wants to call me Mr. Magazine, so be it."

Today he lives up to the title as the country's preeminent magazine expert. On the eve of the 25th edition of his eponymous Guide To New Magazines, coming out in June, mediabistro.com caught up with Husni to discuss what it takes to succeed in today's magazine marketplace and the real salvation of print (Hint: It's not the iPad).

...keep reading at media bistro

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Your logo on pizza (yes, I said P-I-Z-Z-A). Yum?

2010-05-27T06:31:00.000-04:00

Gee, Your Logo Tastes Terrific!Pass the Pistons pizza and Timberwolves toast! Soon, you'll be able to put your favorite NBA team where your mouth is, thanks to brave new licensing initiatives designed to fatten up the NBA's bottom line.

The league is betting that basketball fans, having lost interest in team-branded apparel, will have bottomless appetites for logo foodstuffs. "As key licensing categories have matured, it's an ongoing goal of the NBA to expand the brand into places that may attract new customers," Sal LaRocca, head of global merchandising, told USA Today.

...keep reading at media bistro

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The best beer and food pairings

2010-05-25T21:33:00.002-04:00

"Good food can make good beer taste better, and vice versa," says Aviram Turgeman, a beer sommelier at Cafe D'Alsace in Manhattan. Select the food you're eating to learn his picks for which beers are the perfect match for your main dish.

Pizza, Mackerel
Drink this: Pilsner, lager
Why it works: Structure. A dry, crisp beer with balanced hops can overcome strong flavors, like seasonings on pizza, or the oiliness of fish. Plus, the hops can scrub your taste-buds between bites, enhancing the flavor of both beer and food.
Health bonus: When steaks were soaked in pilsner for 6 hours before panfrying, a suspected carcinogen in the meat was reduced by as much as 88 percent, according to a Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry study.
Also try: Stella Artois, Kronenbourg 1664

Burger, Chicken, Lamb
Drink this: Amber ale
Why it works: Intensity. "Strong flavors overwhelm light beers," says Turgeman. That's why you need a complex, heavier brew.
Health bonus: The hops in a beer like an amber ale may help lower cholesterol and prevent blood clotting, according to a 2007 study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition.
Also try: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale

Beef, Sausage, Pork
Drink this: Farmhouse ale
Why it works: Region. European beers taste great with meat cooked in European styles. Carry the lesson to other cuisines, to complement undertones in each: Asian beer with sushi, a Mexican cerveza with tacos, and so on.
Health bonus: The barley used in ale's brewing process contains flavonoids—a group of compounds, also found in wine, that may interfere with the multiplication of cancer cells.
Also try: La Choulette Blonde, Castelain Blond

Green Salad, Egg
Drink this: Belgian white
Why it works: Weight/body. Citruspacked, lighter wheat beers make food taste fresher and cut through the richness of yolks or hollandaise sauce.
Health bonus: Wheat beers may help lower your risk of cardiovascular diseases, say Austrian researchers. A test-tube study found that compounds in beer helped prevent tryptophan degradation and neopterin production, two factors that are linked with coronary-artery disease.
Also try: Hoegaarden, Blue Moon

Cheese, Salmon
Drink this: Trappist, Abbey
Why it works: Body/strength. The mild sweetness and yeastiness of Trappist beers play off the charred flavors of smoked or grilled food or pungent cheese.
Health bonus: Brewer's yeast contains B vitamins, protein, and minerals, but it rests on the bottom in Trappist beer bottles. So pour most of your beer into a glass, then swirl the last bit to pick up the yeast.
Also try: Leffe Blonde, Goose Island Matilda

Chocolate, Fruit
Drink this: Stout, Porter, flavored lambics
Why it works: There are no rules. "Experiment with sweet beers," Turgeman says. "You can make great combinations." To cap off a dinner date, pair chocolate with cherry lambic.
Health bonus: The black-cherry juice in cherry lambics is higher in disease-fighting antioxidants than cranberry and orange juice are, says a 2008 UCLA study.
Also try: Smuttynose Robust Porter, Young's Double Chocolate Stout

...via Men's Health

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Innovation is the enemy of recession

2010-05-25T09:24:00.004-04:00

Razorfish 2010 Outlook: "You Can Innovate Your Way Out of a Recession"Razorfish isn't labeling their digital trends outlook as "digital" this year. And it's no accident. The marketing and design agency that’s been rooted in digital since its inception in 1995, is making a statement that digital’s not only here to stay, but it’s an assumed part of the mainstream ad world.

And with the first surprise built right into the title, the 2010 report is off and running.

The data crunchers at Razorfish had to examine the data differently because of the double dip recession that persisted throughout 2009. "We analyzed how our clients adapted to the challenging environment, what media proved effective, what didn’t deliver as expected, and how this information can be used to direct successful strategy moving forward," Jeremy Lockhorn, vp of emerging media, tells FastCompany.com.

The result? Many clients acted conservatively and stuck with proven strategies that were in place before the economic slump.

Another surprise was the relatively small investment in social media. "Only 4% of dollars go into social," says Lockhorn but admits the figure is misleading. The money going towards creating content and in the people who power Twitter feeds and Facebook pages is often not included in a traditional advertising budget. "It doesn’t by any stretch represent the total investment our clients are making," Lockhorn notes adding that in mobile, it’s the same deal.

One company that’s making a bigger investment in social media is MillerCoors, with Facebook pages for every beer brand. Director of media relations Julian Green asserts that the company’s "Playing in the space where consumers are living," and points to deals with Yahoo! Fantasy Football and Twitter as other examples of the company's non-traditional media push into sites where at least 70 percent of the audience is adult over 21 years of age.

...keep reading at Fast Company

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Now THIS is a greenhouse

2010-05-21T06:31:00.000-04:00

Jungle Home: Green Tree-Filled Interior & Moss-Lined WallsAt one extreme there are ultra-minimal, super-modern white-and-black interior designs that seem almost medical in their clean simplicity – at the other, this house feels more like a forest or jungle landscape than an indoor living space or work of architecture.

...keep reading at Dornob

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EGO and LUCK (2 ways to fix anything)

2010-03-23T10:45:00.001-04:00

A couple of thoughts on how we can improve everything...

First, eliminate ego from our work. Second, create more opportunities for being lucky. Here are the fundamentals behind each.

Imagine a world without ego. No toes to step on. No feelings to hurt. No territory to defend. Just pure care.

ego: noun: 1. the self 2. an inflated sense of self-significance

To be no ego...

Be humble. Understand you are a (small) part of the world. Service and patience should be your top priorities.
Be teachable. Focus on what you can learn, rather than what you know. Remember that almost everything you learn comes from the work of someone else.
Listen more. Make every effort to truly understand what others are saying (beyond just words). Allow a gap of silence before responding. Ask questions (and listen, again).
Appreciate people. Enjoy others' contributions. Don't squelch ideas or defend territory. Encourage more.
Relax. Let go of the need to be right or win every time.

Nothing complex. So what do you say? You up for it?

You want more luck? Be the force that makes it happen...

...keep reading at BNET Enterprise Spotlight and Give More

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Those crazy Canadians!

2010-03-23T09:37:00.003-04:00

Ever been to Canada? Ever driven on the highways? If so, some of these billboards will look familiar...

...via @StephSutton

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30 tips for using social media in your business

2010-02-15T22:02:00.002-05:00

Wading into the fast-moving flow of social media can be daunting to a small business owner with very little time on his hands. Here's Inc.'s comprehensive social media cheat sheet for the time-strapped entrepreneur.

1. Offer a peek behind the scenes. Offering a sneak preview of new products, services, or features online can help build demand and provide critical feedback to help smooth the launch. For instance, John Doyle, founder of chocolate company John and Kira's in Philadelphia, posts photos of new products on Flickr and invites comments from customers.

2. Harness your expertise. Chances are your company's white paper won't go viral. But sharing knowledge you've gathered through your trade can go a long way toward boosting your brand. Ford Models, for instance, became a YouTube sensation through a series of videos that featured its models giving beauty and fashion tips.

3. Demonstrate what your company does. Because multimedia is so integral to social media, getting connected allows you to express your company's value proposition beyond words. To show just how powerful his company's blenders were, Blendtec's head of marketing, George Wright, created a series of videos showing the appliances churning up such diverse items as a rotisserie chicken, a Rubik's Cube, and an iPhone. The series' 100 million combined views helped boost Blendtec's sales by 700 percent.

4. Put your website's content to work. Want to draw more traffic to your website? Help spread the word by encouraging visitors to share content they enjoy. GotCast, a website that connects television casting directors with aspiring actors, draws new visitors by posting audition videos on Digg and allowing others to share video links on the site. One way to promote the sharing of your site's content is to install a widget, such as AddThis, that automates linking to popular sites.

5. Be candid. In unsure economic times, transparency goes a long way toward retaining and attracting customers. Giving readers the scoop on your company blog is an easy way to keep the lines of communication open. Giacomo Guilizzoni, the founder of San Francisco software company Balsamiq, even posts sales and profit figures to show that his company is on solid financial footing.

6. But be careful what you say about others. When Leslie Richard, owner of a North Carolina clothing company, described Vision Media Television as a "scam," she was slapped with a $20 million lawsuit. While recounting negative experiences with others won't necessarily lead to a court battle, it's best to steer clear of name-calling.

7. Interact with visitors—really. Just putting up a blog or a Facebook fan page won't do much good if visitors sense the flow of conversation only goes one way. In fact, Matt Mullenweg, founder of blogging platform Wordpress, lists not participating in comments as a surefire way to kill a community. Mullenweg and his team field the many suggestions users have for Wordpress through his blog.

8. Don't try to create a stand-in for yourself. With all the other tasks required within your company, it's tempting to outsource managing your social media or even to try automating the process. That can easily backfire, as Joe Pulizzi, founder of Cleveland marketing firm Junta42, learned when he tried sending automated welcome messages to new followers on Twitter. His online contacts quickly called him out for sending out what they perceived to be spam.

9. Don't pretend to be someone else. Thanks to IP address tracking, observers can also quickly tell when company figureheads adopt fake identities for the sake of fluffing up their reputation. Not only can the practice hurt your company's reputation, it could also land you in legal trouble. The plastic surgery Lifestyle Lift had to pay $300,000 in settlement costs to the state of New York for having its employees post flattering reviews of the company without disclosing their affiliation.

...keep reading at Inc.

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2010-02-09T16:15:00.002-05:00

You troll!

I never understood the fascination many people have with hanging out under the stairs. Don't trolls do that? Apparently they're not the only ones that like getting dirt and other randomness drizzled on them as they sit under the stairs.

...via Dornob

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ALERT: Fake UPS emails. Don't get scammed!

2010-01-19T10:40:00.005-05:00

Fake UPS Tracking Number Alerts

I've been receiving a lot of these emails lately and because I order [too many things] online, I almost fell for the first one. If you get one of these emails, the best and easiest thing to do is delete it. DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT.

If you prefer to be more proactive, report it. Although my Outlook doesn't, Gmail does provide an easy way to report spam and phishing. Click 'Report Spam' on the email navigation bar (it's circled above; see image).

If you happened to open one of these or have questions, leave a comment and we'll try to help.

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Facebook's office space

2010-01-14T09:09:00.000-05:00

Facebook’s Cool Office!

Studio o+a was responsible for redesigning Facebook’s new 150,000-square-foot office at Palo Alto, California, USA. During the design process, the design firm consulted employees to find out their expectations about the work environment and they designed the space for each department with a different twist. There is another interesting point here. Some of the walls have been left white and some places look as though they still might need some work.

...keep reading at Home-Designing

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A Facebook employee warns: Don't trust Facebook

2010-01-12T11:19:00.004-05:00

Why You Shouldn't Trust Facebook with Your Data: An Employee's Revelations

The abuse of private data by Facebook employees was pretty much inevitable; the simple act of amassing data tends to lead to corruption. What's sad is how lightly the social network reportedly controls its employees.

There's a great interview on TheRumpus.net with an anonymous Facebook employee. Here are some of the things she divulges:

As of a few months ago, Facebook records and archives information on whose profile you view. (Apparently this was already publicly known.)

Facebook has 200-220 million active users, and more than 300 million total accounts, including disabled accounts and potential fakes.

At one point, Facebook staff widely used a "master password" that unlocked access to anyone's account. Use of this password has been "deprecated," i.e. discouraged, implying the password might still exist and work. What was the password? "With upper and lower case, symbols, numbers, all of the above, it spelled out ‘Chuck Norris,' more or less. It was pretty fantastic."

The Facebook employee is aware of at least two coworkers being fired for abusing their access to profiles; the employee herself also inappropriately access profiles.

Facebook employees can "just query the database" to find your Facebook messages.

The picture that emerges is one of loose internal controls on private data access. Sure, the master password has been replaced by a system in which Facebook staff must log a justification when they view users' private profile data.

...keep reading at Gawker

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The perils of doing your own search engine marketing (SEM)

2009-12-04T08:46:00.000-05:00

Why Did Google Bury the Web's Oldest Entertainment Publication?

UPDATE: Roughly two hours after this post went live, Google re-enabled Studio Briefing's ad serving, without explanation. Irwin still wishes he knew, specifically, what he did wrong. But for now, he says, "we're back in business."

For all its claims of neutrality, Google certainly didn't seem very objective when it delisted Studio Briefing, dealing a huge blow to the Web's oldest entertainment publication.

Since launching its own site in April, Studio Briefing--a Variety-style news service that's been sending emails since 1993--had been buying ads from Google AdWords and promoting ads from Google AdSense. Then in September, without warning, owner Lew Irwin received a boilerplate notification from Google that its ads had been "disabled"--thereby eliminating a potential revenue stream--because the site did not comply with Google policies. The search titan also diverted its spider, which meant Studio Briefing posts wouldn't appear in Google search results.

...keep reading at Fast Company

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The media loves this car

2009-12-03T09:39:00.002-05:00

What Does the GM CEO Shake-Up Mean for the Volt?

The latest--and perhaps most hazardous--roadblock on the Chevy Volt's journey to a car dealership near you might just be the unexpected resignation of General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson. Henderson has only been running the bankrupt corporate giant since President Obama and his Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry ousted Rich Wagoner in March. Back then conservatives and unreconstructed free marketers howled at the White House's intervention in corporate affairs--and no doubt Fox News will be dusting for any White House fingerprints in this latest switcheroo. But The New York Times reported that Henderson's dismissal was a "board-led" decision. If nothing else, this expresses quite eloquently what Detroit thinks of Obama's pick.

...keep reading at Fast Company

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Good cast + minimal marketing = great buzz

2009-12-02T14:26:00.003-05:00

Youth In Revolt - Official Movie Trailer (starring Michael Cera and Zach Galifianakis)

...keep reading at [--INSERT_SOURCE_HERE--]

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Black Friday boasts $595M in US online holiday spending, up 11% vs. last year

2009-11-30T09:47:00.001-05:00

Black Friday Boasts $595 Million in U.S. Online Holiday Spending, Up 11 Percent Versus Year Ago

Strong Lead-Up to Black Friday Boosts Holiday Spending Growth to 3 Percent for the First 27 Days of the Season

RESTON, VA, November 29, 2009 – comScore (NASDAQ : SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 27 days of the November – December 2009 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $10.57 billion has been spent online, marking a 3-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Black Friday (November 27) saw $595 million in online sales, making it the second heaviest online spending day to date in 2009 and representing an 11-percent increase versus Black Friday 2008.

“Black Friday, better known as a shopping bonanza in brick-and-mortar retail stores, is increasingly becoming one of the landmark days in the online holiday shopping world,” said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. “The $595 million in online spending this Black Friday represents the second heaviest online spending day of the season-to-date and a double-digit increase from last year. While this acceleration in spending suggests the online holiday season may be shaping up slightly more optimistically than anticipated, it may also reflect the heavy discounting and creative promotions being put forth by retailers that now encompass the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Cyber Monday – the traditional kick-off to the online holiday shopping season – and the subsequent weeks will be the real test for how online retailers fare this season. That said, this is a very encouraging start.”

...keep reading at comScore

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Hispanic talent

2009-11-20T08:26:00.000-05:00

Finding the “right” Hispanic expertise for your company

Like one of my good teachers once said, “would you ask the janitor to develop your marketing strategy?” Well then, why would you ask your call center representative to create and translate your Spanish collateral materials?

How many times do managers find themselves in the position of having to hire an employee—be it for a call center, sales or marketing—and didn’t know how to go about it?

Here are some tips on how to hire correctly.

If you are looking for a call center representative, you need to find a person with a customer centric attitude and bilingual skills. Ah, but this is tougher than it sounds. The customer service skills are easily detectable, but how do you test the prospect’s bilingual skills in a language you do not know? My advice is to have them take a proficiency test at a local branch of a language instruction institute or a reputable foreign organization that tests Spanish language skills.

...keep reading at Target Latino

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FOS (friend of sales)

2009-11-19T16:28:00.002-05:00

Finding the best home for your ad operations

In the past, when the subject of "who wants to manage ad operations" came up in executive meetings, the only response was the sound of chirping crickets. Ad operations was frequently relegated to the farthest reaches of a corporate floor plan. Fortunately, that time has come and gone. The consideration of where ad operations lives has significant ramifications on the ability of a company to run efficiently and attain revenue goals. The human dynamics between functional divisions are as important, if not more so, than the technology used to support them.

Ad operations is much more than just a back-office function. In fact, it is the lifeblood of any publisher who relies on online media as a significant contribution to its revenue stream. Without ad operations, sales can never make the leap from insertion order to fulfillment of contract. Without ad operations, guidelines for pricing and packaging become a moving target. Without ad operations, the balancing act between creative ad units and credible, reliable content goes off kilter.

Given this critical function, where should ad operations live in an organization? In sales? In technology? In finance? Or, does it live on its own as a standalone division? Having worked with more than 40 publishers as clients, I've seen it all. Even within a single company, organizational structure can change with each new management regime. Depending on the choices that are made, the results can lead to operational efficiency, or downright dysfunction.

Care and feeding of ad operations

In considering the organizational structure that ad operations lives in, the following functions need to be preserved and nurtured:

Gatekeeping. Any publisher revenue forecast worth its salt is built from the ground up, based on metrics that ad operations works with every day. What is the monthly traffic of a site, and the resulting volume of ad impressions? What is the distribution of ad impression by size, by content type? What is the typical sell-through percentage for the site? What is the rate card, and what variances are allowed in day-to-day selling? Ad operations is the last stop before an ad campaign is launched and the last chance to help the publisher manage the pricing and packaging so at the end of a fiscal year, they actually stand a chance of achieving the budget. Ad operations can help by working cooperatively with sales and finance, acting as a gatekeeper to flag contracts that don't meet agreed-upon guidelines.

Technology. Ad operations needs to be in a position to ask for and receive the budget needed to improve the technology that runs its business. If it doesn't have the management clout within an organization to vet out new inventory reports, or new order management and billing solutions, or sophisticated targeting methodologies, it will always be hamstrung with workarounds that are inefficient and lead to errors.

A seat at the table. Here's what I mean by "seat at the table." Too often, new ad product initiatives, editorial calendars that include special site sections, and management changes in ad packaging are planned in a vacuum as far as ad operations is concerned. Leaving ad operations out of the loop leaves out an important piece of the success equation, and generally results in last-minute fire drills because the maxim "the devil is in the details" was not considered.

What's the best neighborhood?

What is the best corporate neighborhood for ad operations to live in? Let's take a look at the variations and consequences at play in creating an org structure that includes ad operations.

...keep reading at iMedia Connection

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5 Signs You Need A Website Redesign Now

2009-11-18T08:44:00.001-05:00

Back in 2005, you took your business online with the latest and most cutting edge eCommerce technologies. Now, almost half a decade later, your website is still chugging along, but that once shiny layer of digital paint is now showing signs of age.

Does this story sound familiar?

Standards, styles, and best practices on the web change at lightning speed, and although your website may still be completely functional, you may be warding off potential customers and clients unknowingly. Here are 5 questions you need to ask yourself to see if your website needs a redesign, pronto.

Question 1: In terms of speed, how fast is your website? You’ve worked hard to get your visitors to show up at your website’s door – don’t put them to sleep with long load times. Numerous studies have been conducted and all of them have found the same result: Longer load times = less visitors = less business.

A study conducted by Akamai in 2006 found that if your website takes longer than four seconds to fully load, 33%, or one-third, of all visitors will abandon your site. Additionally, Amazon found that a 100ms increase in site load time would result in a 1% decrease in sales, while Google found that an increase of 500ms on load time would directly result in a drop in traffic and revenue by 20%.

Whatever numbers you go by, the one takeaway is that your website needs to load, fast. Try optimizing your website by compressing images for the web, aggregating and cleaning out your CSS, and removing old, unnecessary content to reduce HTTP requests. You can also try switching webhosts if loading issues persist.

Question 2: Does your website lack consistency? Although it may not seem like it, consistency in major elements on all pages of your site is a must. Elements like navigation, fonts and colors, URL format, and editorial style should show consistency throughout your website as it shows your professionalism and attention to detail when conducting business.

If your site is riddled with typos, mismatching font sizes, and non-loading images, not only will it impact the credibility of your website but can also negatively affect your search engine optimization strategy, which can result in lowered sales.

Sites like Yahoo!, eBay, and the BBC have hundreds if not thousands of pages online at any given time, yet almost all of those pages have a similar feel, design, and editorial style. Browse through, compare, and take notes, and see if your website maintains a solid level of consistency when compared to some major leaguers.

Question 3: Does your website scream sensory overload? Don’t try to throw text, imagery, links, icons, buttons, ads, or whatever else at your visitor right off the bat. Information overload will prevent you from surfacing the most important information on your website while delivering a load of clutter your visitor will have to sift through. You’ll be shocked to see how quickly a set of eyes can glaze over. (Check out this info-mess here.)

Take a minute to review the different types of information hierarchies used today at webdesignfromscratch.com, and while you’re at it, analyze how the information on your website is organized. Matching the contents of your website up with the right information architecture will not only produce more efficient visitors but will also produce more efficient shoppers as well.

Question 4: Does your website look old-school? Technologies aren’t the only thing that evolve at a break-neck pace online – styles do too. Whatever style was hot back in ’05 probably isn’t what’s hot right now. Here’s how Message Web Designs explains it:

Just like hairstyles, websites date. What was all the rage a couple of years ago is now seen as passé… Sometimes this is down to design trends - like the 3D buttons and interfaces that were so popular a few years back when graphics tools made it easy to create bevel and emboss styles. Other times it's because the web is maturing and web designers develop a better understanding of what visitors want. For instance, Flash intro pages were all the rage until web designers realised that users didn't like them and wanted to get straight to the content. Flash introductions are the beehive hairdo of the web design world: dated, impractical and utterly pointless.

...keep reading at Elance

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Do keywords really matter

2009-11-17T15:25:00.000-05:00

Why Keywords Matter from Wordtracker on Vimeo.

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Adopt a family

2009-11-17T12:55:00.006-05:00

For most of us, the holidays are a time of joy celebrated with family and friends, but for thousands in our community, it is a time of struggle and disappointment. But you can help through the Neighbors 4 Neighbors Adopt-A-Family 4 The Holidays program which officially kicked off Tuesday night with a fundraiser in Doral.

This year my family is participating in Channel 4’s Neighbors 4 Neighbors Adopt a Family 4 the Holiday’s program. We've been assigned a family in need from the Miami area and the family that we are privileged to assist this Thanksgiving and Christmas season is a family of five (mom, dad, a 10-year-old girl and two 5 and 3-year-old boys).

Through Divine Savior, we're providing them with a basket of non-perishable food but I don't want to stop there... so if there's anything you can send, please do so and share with those in [dire] need. If you have any questions, please let me know!

...keep reading at CBS

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Living with a gadget addict

2009-11-17T08:47:00.001-05:00

Living with a BlackBerry Addict

Meg Cadoux Hirshberg writes about how her husband, Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg, never lets his BlackBerry leave his side.

Her name is Bond Girl.

My husband, Gary, refers to her simply as his BlackBerry, but I know better. Bond Girl has become the awkward third wheel in our relationship. She sleeps on Gary's bed table and wakes us each morning. When he reaches to silence her, he can't resist scrolling down her sleek silver body to check for last night's e-mails. Bond Girl joins us when we dine and sits on the sidelines at our kids' soccer games, purring randomly. She knows all Gary's secrets and contains all his memories. She alone knows where he'll be today, tomorrow, and ever after.

My normally calm husband turned quietly frantic when he misplaced Bond Girl a few months ago. She turned up after a 15-minute search, and I joked that it would be interesting to see just how long he could live without her. Not missing a beat, Gary replied, "I think you just did."

Over the 25 years that Gary has been in business, we've marveled at each new technology. I remember my amazement at our first PC in 1985 and first fax machine in 1987. Then cell phones came along. But none of those affected the texture of our relationship the way Bond Girl has. Although the barrier between work and the rest of life has been eroding steadily, it's taken the BlackBerry to shatter it altogether. Her incessant buzzing -- Check me! Check me! It just might be important! -- slices into our family cocoon. The way some mourn the loss of wilderness, I grieve the loss of quiet space, free of electronic intrusion and interruption. Bond Girl gives Gary constant access to the world. But more disturbingly, she gives the world constant access to him.

Entrepreneurial businesses are colicky babies that never stop screaming for their owners' time, energy, and imagination. Their families are in a constant battle for attention. For the entrepreneur, maintaining work-family balance involves managing guilt on both sides. Enter the BlackBerry. It beguiles both the entrepreneur and the family by creating the alluring illusion of freedom. The entrepreneur can be surrounded by family, untethered from the office -- but always accessible to work.

...keep reading at Inc.

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Anatomy of a recommendation

2009-11-13T12:36:00.003-05:00

Client Satisfaction or Delight?

Here's what most business owners don't get:

It's not enough to satisfy clients, you need to delight them. The good news is that this really works. The bad news is that it takes more thought and effort than the average business owner is willing to give.

I recently went on a vacation to Sedona Arizona, as I mentioned last week. Well, Sedona itself certainly delights. It's a natural wonder and the spectacular red hills, desert pants and breathtaking hiking trails don't need any marketing help.

But it's a different case with the restaurants.

...keep reading at Action Plan Marketing

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The secret strategy of getting referrals

2009-10-29T09:30:00.005-04:00

How To Double Your Business By Cloning Your Top Clients

Are you ready for the secret? There are two parts to it. First you have to ask. Second you have to ask often.

Here is a list of great referral marketing ideas:

Referral research method

Getting Married philosophy

Non- verbal referral communication

Up front referral business

Competition target method

Clone your best clients method

Centers of influence referrals

The first idea is to do research on selected referral targets. Show your client or center of influence the ideal client profile that you are looking for or targeting. Let them know that you are constantly trying to improve your business to help people achieve their financial goals.

While clients are happy with the services they receive, you would like to interview potential prospects to conduct research on what our marketing, communication and advice that you help people with and the perceived value. Ask them for names of people in your unique profile purely to do market research.

You want to let them know that it will greatly help identify and target your ideal prospect. Then call these referrals and you will be amazed at the amount of
information you can gather about your target market.

How they network, the clubs or associations they belong to the type of advisors they work with and how they network. Along the way the people who you conduct research on may provide referrals to you directly.

The next referral strategy is the getting married philosophy. Think for a moment if you were to marry someone new, who would you want to meet that is associated with that person to find out more about them. First you may meet their parents ( a movie was made about this), you might want to meet their friends, colleagues at work and possibly their neighbors.

We’ll ask your client, 'Now that you have become a client of ours, have you talked with anyone in your family, at work or your friends about us'. Chances are if they just moved a large investment account to you, they at least tell their best friends.

In their center of people close to them they have the ability to send friends and family your way as referrals. Talking about it up front may make it easier to refer these people to you. You can ask if any of these people, family, friends, colleagues at work should need your help that you are more than happy to accommodate their needs. While they might not fit your ideal profile, usually birds of a feather flock together and their friends will be similar to their profile. Get married to your clients. At least help the people around them.

...keep reading at Financial Advisor Marketing

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So disappointed with Apple

2009-10-28T14:42:00.002-04:00

iPhone AC Adapter

Be very careful with your iPhone adapter. I recently purchased a new 3GS iPhone for my wife and the AC adapter starting sparking from both the end plugged into the outlet and the end that plugs into the phone. The phone was not connected at the time and it happened as the AC adapter was being unplugged from the outlet. There was a recall months ago and Apple replaced them with adapters with a green dot. Note that this AC adapter has the green dot. I contacted ATT and they basically put me in touch with Apple support who made an appointment for me at my local apple store to have the adapter replaced.

Attached is a picture of the "fried" adapter. Dont know if you can tell but the end that connects to the phone has melted a bit. We were fortunate enough that no one was hurt.

So disappointed with Apple!

D

...via email

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Shhhhhh... this is top secret

2009-10-27T08:09:00.000-04:00

The Secrets of Bill Gates' Portfolio

Bill Gates owns about 700 million shares of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) -- 713.1 million to be exact. His cache of Microsoft stock is worth a tidy $18.7 billion. Every time the price of Microsoft moves up a penny, Gates' wealth grows by $7.1 million.

Well, big surprise there, right? You knew Bill had a pile of MSFT shares. So did I.

But Gates holds huge positions in other companies. Forbes, which recently pegged Gates' wealth at $50 billion, alluded to some of these other holdings. I'm not going to gloss over the details. I'm going to tell you exactly what the richest man in the world owns.

By poring through SEC records for Gates -- as well as his personal holding company, which manages his investments -- I've come up with a list of 19 holdings in addition to Microsoft.

Some of them, like ethanol and coal companies, may interest you. The losers might surprise you. Some holdings, such as a $350 million stake in his close friend Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, you might have been able to guess.

Let's take a look:

...keep reading at StreetAuthority

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Yahoo's lap dancers make all the wrong moves

2009-10-21T10:21:00.002-04:00

Company issues apology for racy entertainment for developers in Taiwan

Yahoo has apologized for its use of scantily clad lap dancers to entertain mainly male software developers and engineers in Taiwan last weekend. The Internet search company Monday acknowledged its politically incorrect step.

"I wanted to acknowledge the public reaction generated by the images of female dancers at our Taiwan Open Hack Day this past weekend," said Chris Yeh of Yahoo's Development Network on the company's blog.

"Our hack events are designed to give developers an opportunity to learn about our ... (programming) and technologies. As many folks have rightly pointed out, the 'Hack Girls' aspect of our Taiwan Hack Day is not reflective of that spirit or purpose. And it’s certainly not the message we want to send about our values here at Yahoo! Hack Days are about making everyone feel welcome, including women coders and technologists."

...keep reading at msnbc.com

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Companies are dumb

2009-10-19T18:13:00.005-04:00

Most Companies are Dumb When it Comes to Customer Intelligence

Despite most firms indicating their involvement in customer intelligence efforts, the lack of sophistication of said efforts–and the siloing of the data–is holding back many businesses, according to a new report from Forrester.

The Intelligent Approach To Customer Intelligence report reveals more than 80% of companies say they use market research, direct marketing, and web analytics, as part of their customer intelligence. Yet, despite this, only 25% of companies have any idea just how beneficial that data is to their business. Forrester submits that there are three levels of sophistication–when it comes to customer intelligence–and most organizations are barely scratching the surface ...

...keep reading at Marketing Pilgrim

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In the midst of an existential crisis

2009-10-15T15:52:00.004-04:00

Oliver Stone Throws A Tantrum About The Internet At Terra Speaking Engagement

Last night, Guanabee attended a speaking engagement for which director Oliver Stone was paid, ($75,000, according to one Terra employee), to speak with Terra CEO and founder Fernando Madeira about the future of the internet. Terra, in case you don’t know, bills themselves as a, "leading entertainment, news and sports hub for U.S. Hispanics". Which is why it was somewhat surprising when Stone proceeded to tell his host, and all the internet entrepreneurs in the audience at The New Museum in Manhattan, what a "disaster" the internet is. As the conversation wore on, it became clear that we were in the presence of an aging and angry man coming to terms with his growing irrelevance in the face of internet entertainment culture. Basically, Stone doesn’t believe anything (video or otherwise) on the internet can be called art because "it’s not the way [he] grew up". It’s not what he calls, "watching a movie". He then summed up the internet thusly: "These kids" "jump in a pool" [and video tape it] and "call it a movie".

...keep reading at Guanabee

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Google loses the first position to Microsoft

2009-10-15T12:56:00.000-04:00

Internet Users Grow by 20% in Latin America. Which Online Destinations are Gaining Ground?

The number of Internet users grew substantially in the three main Latin American countries during the August 2008 - August 2009 period, according to figures released by ComScore. Argentina is the country that grew the most with an annual growth rate of 29% to 11 million users, vs. 22% in Brazil to 31 million users and 14% in Mexico to more than 13 million users.

What online destination are taking advantage of this growth, which ones are laging behind? Google and Microsoft continue to be in the top position in most Latin American countries. Both media properties’ number of unique users grew by approximately 20% (see the tables at the end of this article).

Mexico is the only large country where Google loses the first position. Microsoft sites lead in Mexico with a difference of over 400,000 unique users over Google.

The Brazilian market, by far the largest one in Latin America, continues to be in the hands of local players. UOL and Organizacoes Globo. However, Brazil Telecom, Terra and Yahoo are growing at a rate of 20%, twice the rate of the leading local players.

...keep reading at Portada Magazine

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Hispanics... yes, they ARE online

2009-10-13T09:07:00.001-04:00

An Overlooked Niche: Marketing To Hispanics Online

There is no doubt Hispanics are online. And for most of them, the Internet is about connecting with their friends and family and keeping in touch with the latest happenings in their world. However, advertisers have fallen short in actively targeting this portion of the population, in particular with search marketing. Marketers are missing a golden opportunity because Hispanic online users are prime candidates for responding to a search marketing campaign.

According to eMarketer, 52% of U.S. Hispanics are online, representing about 23 million in 2008. And that number will only grow. The U.S. Hispanic population is the most rapidly increasing demographic group in the United States and ranks as the number one minority group. In some cities and states, this minority group has even become the majority. The same may someday be true for Hispanic users online. It is estimated that number of Hispanic Internet users will surge between now and 2012 and surpass 29 million.

And they aren’t novice users. Half of the U.S Hispanic online population has been using the Internet for more than three years. This demographic knows eBay, knows Google and can surf the web with the best of them. With 27% of those 23 million Internet users going online everyday, there are plenty of opportunities for marketers to reach out and connect with this group.

Online and ready to purchase

Hispanic online spending was expected to make up 11% of all online spending in 2007 amounting to about $12.8 billion, according to Jupiter Research, expected to increase to $21.6 billion by 2011. Plus, online Hispanics are more desirable to advertisers than their offline counterparts. They earn more, are better educated and are more likely to own a home. And most of them are searching on Google. Google claims that it holds 72% of the Hispanic market share, followed by Yahoo! at 17% and MSN at 2%.

...keep reading at Search Engine Land

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SEO, anyone?

2009-10-13T08:53:00.002-04:00

Would Your Company Be A Good SEO Client?

Organic links – the ones that just happen are typically driven by things like public relations, brand awareness, unique content, existing exposure, and social networking. In competitive markets, some aspects of the evolving SEO field should be baked into the core of the company’s DNA. When you get interviewed, you have to know to ask for links. If you are in competitive markets and are operating at scale, it is unlikely that you will have your SEO be your contact point for all media relationships.

Profitable client projects

Some client projects are a slam dunk; where after a half hour of research, you see opportunities (including site structure, page titles, on page optimization, competitive research, and content ideas) that guarantee a multi-thousand percent ROI. SEO is the most explosive and has the highest returns when there is an already successful company that is in the game, but has not given a second thought to SEO.

All of the footprints (customers, customer interactions, customer lists, word of mouth marketing, organic links, a traffic stream outside of search, etc.) that comes along with having a successful company, works as a foundation which helps the SEO efforts boost the site even higher into the search results. As a bonus, those existing footprints on the web are also the hardest for competitors to clone. Once you have them, you have a lasting competitive advantage.

It is easier to take a website from page 2 or 3 of the search results to the top than it is to start building from scratch. In fact, many of the smartest SEO practitioners are willing to launch a site that is half done just so they can get it a few links and get it aging. Google likes old websites, so that is what we should give them.

Brutally ugly client projects

Conversely, the worst websites to work for (especially as client projects) are those which are not unique, those that are brand new, and those that tend to be thin on content. Why? These sites have no footprint on the web. And if they are to build one, it often requires aggressive push marketing, and is moving counter to the trend in search. Matt Cutts recently went so far as making a video recommending not trying to rank a thin ecommerce site.

Worse yet, many of the thin sites are to remain thin because the owner is a blow hard who is unwilling to change. These are the types of projects that have a less than 1% chance of being profitable and enjoyable. Any SEO who has taken on a dozen or more clients, should be able to spot the toxic client types and turn down those opportunities before they become headaches.

Read more at Search Engine Land

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Sue Facebook, I could use the money

2009-10-12T12:51:00.002-04:00

Times Are Tough, Why Not Sue Facebook?

Once upon a time, Google was the company to sue. Now it seems to have passed the mantle to Facebook, which is facing an entertaining array of bizarre and quixotic lawsuits--many of them filed in the last few days, and with little legal merit. ([Above], Facebook's new HQ in Palo Alto.)

The headliner: Phoenix Media, maker of personal and dating-service ads used by 200 newspapers nationally, is suing Facebook for patent infringement. What's the alleged infraction? The lawsuit says that Facebook copies Phoenix's patented "method of creating and sharing a profile page." The company hasn't said how much in damages it will seek, but if it doesn't win against Facebook, it can always sue every single other Web 2.0 Web site on earth.

Read more at Fast Company

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Click here to see your ad in mysterious places

2009-10-08T13:42:00.001-04:00

Pros and Cons of Online Ad Networks

Convenience and reach come at a price

Ad networks hold wide appeal for both publishers and advertisers. On the content provider side, they offer an easy way to sell a large amount of inventory—even if the revenue per impression is typically less than with direct sales.

On the advertiser side, according to a worldwide study by Econsultancy and the Rubicon Project, the main benefits of using ad networks are increased reach, flexible payment models and lower costs.

Read more at eMarketer

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US Hispanic SEO Market

2009-10-08T10:28:00.003-04:00

Implications Of Yahoo Microsoft Search Deal

Yahoo and Microsoft's recently announced a search partnership where Microsoft's newest search engine, Bing.com, will power Yahoo's search functions while Yahoo handles ad sales. The deal will not be fully consummated until some point in 2010, but it is important to understand the ramifications for the Hispanic online market today.

The US Hispanic Search Market Before the Yahoo Microsoft Partnership

Just as Google dominates the global search market, Google currently controls the lion's share of the U.S. Hispanic search market. According to my not-so-scientific estimates (see below), Google controls close to 47% of the U.S. Hispanic search market. Not only is Google.com the most popular site among U.S. Hispanics, Google has also been very savvy in establishing partnerships with leading Hispanic publishers to power their search functions. These partnerships include, but are not limited, to AOL.com and AOL Latino, Fox Interactive Media (most notably MySpace), Univision.com, Terra.com, Batanga.com, Starmedia.com and Impremedia.

I calculate that Yahoo currently holds about 27% of the US Hispanic search market. The majority of its U.S. Hispanic search volume comes from Yahoo.com (the second-most popular site among Hispanics) in addition to Yahoo en Español. From a partnership perspective, some deals of note include Yahoo's integration with Mexican media giant Televisa's web portal, EsMas.com, which is very popular among Mexican Americans, and also with Hispanic Digital Network's array of niche Hispanic websites.

Microsoft is in third place with 13% of the Hispanic search market thanks to the third-most popular site among Hispanics, MSN.com and MSN Latino. Microsoft also picks up Hispanic searches from it's partnership with Facebook which reaches close to 8 million U.S. Hispanics each month.

Ask.com rounds out the top four with 13% of the Hispanic search market.

Read more at MediaPost

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Advertising slump O-V-E-R

2009-10-08T08:55:00.003-04:00

Things seem on the up and up for Google

Surrounded by the cutest woodland creatures you ever did see in a technicolor green forest, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said that we’ve sailed through the worst of the advertising recession. As the words left his mouth, a rainbow appeared and sprinkled candy down on all the orphan children below.

Read more at ADOTAS

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Interesting perspective from a fellow Latino growing up in a "white Long Island"

2009-10-08T08:38:00.005-04:00

CNN’s Soledad O’Brien on growing up Latina in a white L.I. town

Journalist Soledad O’Brien, the host of the two-part CNN documentary "Latino in America," premiering Oct. 21, has written a companion book covering not only the stories of Latinos across the country interviewed for the special — from actress Eva Longoria Parker to Francisca Abreu, a 15-year-old mother in the Bronx — but her own family’s immigrant tale.

O’Brien, 43, is the daughter of a black Cuban mother (Estela Lucrecia Marquetti y Mendieta), who left Havana in 1947, and a white Australian father (Edward Ephram O’Brien), reared in a town called Toowoomba. In the book, released yesterday, she shares her experience growing up with five siblings in Smithtown, L.I., "a mixed family in a single-race town."

Read more at New York Daily News

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So today is crop circle day at Googleplex?!

2009-09-15T08:38:00.001-04:00

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Televisa, Genomma unveil product sales alliance

2009-08-31T12:26:00.002-04:00

MEXICO CITY, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Mexican broadcaster Televisa and Genomma Lab Internacional unveiled a strategic alliance on Sunday ... to sell personal care and over-the-counter medicines in the United States and Puerto Rica.

The alliance is due to be operating by the end of the year via a company called Televisa Consumer Products USA, or TCP, 51-percent owned by Televisa (TLVACPO.MX) (TV.N) and 49 percent by Genomma (LABB.MX), the companies said in a joint statement.

Keep reading article...

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Concepts for cigarette packaging

2009-08-24T11:56:00.004-04:00

Much better than the alternative...

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Missing

2009-08-23T14:27:00.001-04:00

Twitter: Why it’s so great and how to effectively use it

2009-08-06T17:13:00.005-04:00

Apparently micro-blogging is getting more and more popular by the day and consequently its biggest platform on the web, Twitter, is rapidly ... growing as well. This means there’s a whole new emerging market of tech savvy, blogging experienced users that’s just waiting to be grasped. A great opportunity indeed!

But first, for those a bit unfamiliar with micro blogging and more importantly twitter, let me explain a bit how it works. Twitter is basically a service that allows you to update your status with short messages, of up to 140 characters, just like a SMS text message. What makes it so special is that it also has social elements, allowing users to befriend each other; in twitter this is called “following.” Whenever you’re following somebody on twitter you’ll be able to instantly receive their updates and keep up to date with someone’s status. Furthermore because mobility and fastness are of the utmost importance in micro blogging, twitter allows you to update your status via the web page, IM, mobile phone, blackberry or various other third party applications.

Why You Should Use Twitter

When I first started out using twitter, about 2 months ago, I was very skeptical regarding its actual utility and purpose, as I found the notion of knowing what people were up to kinda irrelevant. “Off eating dinner,” “My flight just arrived in San Francisco,” “Walking my dog.” Why should I care about anything like this? Well if you, like I have in the beginning, think that’s all there is to twitter, then you’re just making misperceptions. Truth is there’s more to it then meets the eye, my friends.

After I first registered an account I felt a bit out of place and lonely, because I wasn’t following anyone and no one was following me. I soon started twitting a bit though, followed a bunch of people I knew and started socializing. After a while I soon realized how powerful twitter can really be and what kind of benefits it can bring.

It’s been widely proven that twitter can be easily used as a self-promotion tool, to pitch your content, services and products with ease. This is done by broadcasting your message, although short, to your followers. Sounds familiar ? That’s because twittering resembles a lot blogging, except your message is broadcasting in “real time” to your reader. It’s this mixture of blogging, RSS and social networking that makes twitter so appealing.

Still not convinced? Here’s a few more reasons why twitter rocks.

Traffic. Although at fist glance it might seem like twitter isn’t capable of directing any respectable amount of traffic, truth is, if used properly, it can provide your blog with quite a “few” new visitors. The traffic from twitter isn’t too shabby either, in terms of quality, most of the visitors being pretty targeted, that stick around, read your posts and even subscribe.

You can send traffic by entering your blog’s url in your twitter profile (this will be responsible for most of the regular traffic you’ll receive from twitter) or by twitting one of your post’s url. The amount of traffic you can receive from twitter is directly proportional to number of followers you posses.

Awareness and branding. Just like any other social network, twitter can be used as a powerful tool to build your brand and raise awareness. If you browse a bit through twitter you’ll undoubtedly find twitter users for a lot of popular online and offline brands, that simply track their day to day progress and update with valuable breaking news. The thing about twitter branding is that it’s a lot more personal, probably thanks to it’s IM like environment, helping you to thin the line between you and your readers.

Promote your content. This is more of a combination between the first two posts. A lot of bloggers nowadays, realizing the huge potential twitter possess of leveraging their content, have begun to publicize and promote their blog posts on twitter. This means either they post their blog post url, along with a short description (what can you expect in 140 characters or less?) or the url to various other social media websites like digg, reddit or stumbleupon for example, so that their followers can vote them.

A nifty little twitter tool, available on the web right now, that’s been getting a lot of attention lately, is TwitterFeed, a great twitter application that will automatically post your latest blog posts titles, along with the respective url of course, without any interference from your behalf.

Fast help and feedback. A few weeks ago I asked for some urgent help on twitter, when I updated my status saying “I need some critical help from a PHP guru, please add AIM Qotsa ftw.” Frankly I didn’t expect any results or help coming in any soon, but I was pretty desperate. In a matter of minutes about four talented programmers added me on AIM and offered to hear me out and help, free of charge! Where else can you find this kind of fast response? I soon found that twitter can be an extremely efficient environment for collecting honest and live feedback, ranging from anything like design, to writing, to the over all reader experience.

Find a new audience. At the beginning of the article I stated that twitter is a emerging market, that’s beginning to explode on the web with hundred of thousands of users, meaning there’s a whole new vast audience, that’s just waiting to get exposed to your blog. Use twitter in conjunction with my 10 other ways of finding new readers and you’ll soon boost your stats and break the plateau.

Latest news. Because twitter is so instant and spontaneous you can now find out about the latest industry and scene news in a particular field of activity you’re following, within minutes of the actual event. If you thought RSS feeds are a good way of keeping up with news and new content, wait till you try twitter.

Inform people of your status. While telling people what you ate for dinner won’t appeal to many, a lot of people might be interested in what’s your business plans for the day or who’ll you’ll be meeting. Status live updates come especially in handy when you’re on conferences and witness first-hand world premiers.

Networking. Twitter is a great way to get to know new and like minded individuals, that share your same passions and area of expertise. Following them truly is a pleasure. This way you can see what your fellow peers are up to, open up to mutual promotional work and build future business relationships.

Marketing. As it’s the case with most social media services, you can use twitter to market and pitch your products. However twitter won’t directly help you market your content, but rather indirectly by helping build your brand name and authority. After you’ve established yourself as an authority to your audience, sales will follow as well.

It’s fast and mobile. You can user twitter from anywhere in the world, even from a mobile phone. Also updating your status on twitter won’t take more then 1 minute, you’re not gonna write essays in 140 characters or less, right?
11. Keep track of things. Just like a mini journal, I like to use twitter to record my progress through out the day. This helps me keep focus on my tasks and helps me get things done (even though ironically it can be a real productivity bugger). It’s a great way to write down ideas for further reference.

Provides inspiration. As a blogger you always have to produce a steady flow of new and original content. This can tend to get a bit difficult after a while, so any source of blog post inspiration can be considered a blessing. How does twitter fit in the big picture? Well, all you have to do is keep your eyes open on the people your following and you’ll see material for new content building up in your head. Some people have sparks or moments of inspiration concerning a particular topic, which they then twitter to get it off their chest. You can borrow their ideas and then build a post of your own around them. All the right reasons to follow important and intelligent people. Also you can always ask a question about something and your followers will soon answer it (I showed you how great asking questions can be with twitter in a point above), developing the idea, thus providing you with possible new material to work with.

It’s viral. Anything that spreads quickly and easily across a community makes a great social service anytime, in my eyes. Twitter works virally in a word of mouth kinda way. You as user may twit about something important, your followers will then take the story to their followers and so on.

Make money! By using twitter you can increase your income indirectly through social media marketing, but you can also make money directly by selling twits. This is totally against the twitter TOS and most of all unethical, but since when’s that reason enough for people to stop doing it.

If you want to know more about the concept read these posts by Darren Rowse and Jason Falls, who’ve written the articles more as an experiment and joke, but have defined some great ideas, that will undoubtedly materialize in the future, as twitter develops more and more. Won’t be surprised if something like this exists somewhere deep underground…

It’s fun! There’s something special about twitter, that makes it real fun, but I just can’t put my finger on it yet. I always have a good laugh when I read a good joke on twitter or when someone shares a great link with me. It’s that kind of fun you find in a great social network like stumbleupon or digg and twitter has plenty of it.

...MORE...

via Lost Art of Blogging

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LookSmart Delivers Better Value With CPA-Optimized Ad Rotation

2009-08-06T17:05:00.003-04:00

LookSmart, the search advertising network and management company, has announced ... the limited beta test of SmartRotation, a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) driven tool that uses a tracking pixel to automatically optimize campaigns based on the best-converting ad creative.

SmartRotation is part of a larger beta test of ad rotation and is the latest addition to LookSmart’s award-winning AdCenter, a powerful ad serving and keyword auction platform that enables advertisers to manage return on investment (ROI) through increased targeting and tracking.

“Most search advertising providers offer ad rotation optimization driven by click-through rate, which benefits them, but not necessarily the advertiser,” said Michael Schoen, VP of advertising platforms for LookSmart.

“Advertisers can maximize ROI and lower CPAs from LookSmart campaigns while reducing time spent managing those campaigns using SmartRotation.”

LookSmart’s AdCenter processes more than a billion daily queries for LookSmart’s syndicated network and is used by thousands of advertisers via self-service accounts, dedicated managed services and bid management through advanced API technology. The AdCenter’s targeting and tracking features include geo-targeting, ad scheduling, and conversion tracking and reporting and traffic management features like referrer white- and black-listing and campaign-level feed capping.

via DESIGN TAXI

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Toys R Us sends expired gift cards

2009-08-01T11:12:00.003-04:00

Thanks for motivating me to go to Target.

Six easy ways to make $100

2009-07-23T19:09:00.001-04:00

... why not share some of the ways I make some easy extra cash?

Earn interest on your idle cash.

Open up a high-yield savings account that links up directly with your existing checking account and pumps up that piddly interest rate you’re getting now. At around 3-4% APY, with every $3,000 in cash you can make around $100 more in interest a year.

Earn some quick bucks for signing up for accounts.

You can get up to $250 upfront just for signing up and making a purchase with several credit cards. Just put them away afterwards or cancel them, there’s no need to pay a penny of interest. I’ve certainly made thousands of dollars this way.

Get cash back whenever you make a purchase.

If you are responsible with credit cards, you should really use a credit card that gives you cash back or other perks when buying everyday purchases like groceries, gas, and everything else. Here’s a list of my favorite rewards credit cards. You can easily get back $100 a year without changing your current spending patterns.

Save on monthly expenses

Haggle your cable bill down by over $100 a year by simply asking or by using their competitor’s deals. You don’t have to be a new customer! You can compare your currently available offers from Comcast, AT&T, TimeWarner, Verizon, etc. at BroadbandNational, using your address and phone number.

Save up to 30% off on your cell phone bill with a corporate or student discount. Qualify by just using your e-mail address.

Make your credit card pay YOU interest!

For something more risky but potentially more profitable as well, read up on how you can make thousands of dollars off the credit card companies. If you borrow just $2,000 of the credit card company’s money from a 0% APR offer and sock it away at 5% interest (see above), that’s a quick $100 a year! Do it with $40,000 or more like I’ve done, and make over $2,000 in one year!

Lower your stock trade commissions to Zero

How much do you spend on commissions every year? How about keeping all that to yourself? You can with Zecco.com, and they have no minimum balance required to start. See here for my Zecco brokerage review, complete with tips on how to optimize your account with them.

Want More? Bookmark Me, or Subscribe To Updates!

Every day I write about things that will help secure my financial future. If this sounds interesting to you, please consider subscribing to future updates via RSS.

via My Money Blog

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Greetings

2009-07-17T22:08:00.000-04:00

EATR: The Pentagon is developing a robot that powers itself w/ biomass (I eat dead people)

2009-07-16T19:23:00.001-04:00

EATR: A Robot That'll Forage Its Own Fuel

The Pentagon is developing a new robot that can power itself with biomass--and, as Fox News gleefully conjectures, dead people.

Fuel can be scarce on the battlefield--and, given all the high-tech doodads that the Pentagon is investing in, that could be a huge problem. No wonder that its super-secret research arm, DARPA, is funding the development of a robot running on biomass that can forage for its own food.

As Fox News is happy to report, that biomass could be anything--from grass to old furniture, and including "dead bodies." (Granted, desecration of the dead is actually a war crime under Article 15 of the Geneva Conventions, but hey! This is Fox News right? Waterboarding? Corpse-eating robots? Whatevs. Freedom!!!)

The machine, being developed by Robotic Technology, based in Maryland, goes under the inevitable name of EATR--that is, the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot.The idea is that it would be powered by an ultra-efficient furnace--the so-called Waste Heat Engine developed by Cyclone Power Technology, which uses heat to create steam, which would then power an electric turbine. That heat could be provided by burning both convention fuels like gasoline or cooking oil, but also biomass. The company estimates that 150 pounds of vegetation could provide 100 miles of driving for the bot. It would then be able to find it's own food using autonomous control technology which has already--ahem--eaten $250 million in research grants, as part of the Future Combat Systems program.

But back to the corpse question. We're thinking that in light of the Geneva Conventions, the very possibility that this thing would eat a human corpse is enough to scuttle the project. Which means that to get it operational, the machine would have to know exactly what counts as human remains, and know to steer clear. Which, come to think of it, is still pretty damn terrifying. But at least these robots will never fear for their jobs, like Japanese robots. These things are intended to be able to live an itinerant lifestyle for years on their own.

by Cliff Kuang for Robotic Technology via Fox News

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Control your iPhone / iPod with you iRing (yes, as in what you'd wear on your finger)

2009-07-16T18:58:00.000-04:00

This is an original concept [Victor Soto] made of a ring that could control the playback functionality of your iPod / iPhone device wirelessly (modeled in Max 9 and rendered in Vray).

by Victor Soto via Behance

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@HippyFresa driving @MemoPlehn 's car (see it to believe it)

2009-07-15T14:34:00.002-04:00

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Smith & Hawken says thank you and farewell

2009-07-15T04:40:00.000-04:00

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I'm switching to this workout for a couple of weeks

2009-07-14T18:53:00.000-04:00

Use this 4-week workout to melt your flab and unveil your abs

If you want to lose your gut, don't think of lifting weights as an option; consider it a requirement. Why? When dieters don't pump iron, 22 percent of their weight loss comes from losing muscle, according to a Penn State study. So if you drop 20 pounds without lifting, almost 5 pounds will be from muscle.

That won't happen with this program. It's designed to work your muscles intensively four days a week so you can banish your belly but keep your biceps. In fact, scientists discovered that men using a similar approach lost 37 percent more fat than those who didn't hit the weights. The end result: the lean, muscular body you want.

Directions

Perform these workouts four days a week. Do the upper-body and lower-body workouts on consecutive days, rest a day, and repeat. For your first upper-body day, use the low-rep workout. For your first lower-body day, follow the high-rep workout. Then switch for your second two days of training, so every week you end up performing both high and low reps for your upper and lower body.

For the upper-body workout, alternate between the exercises that have the same number (1A and 1B, for example). Do one set of the first exercise and rest, followed by one set of the second exercise, and rest again. Complete all your sets for each exercise pair and then move to the next pair (2A and 2B).

For the lower-body workout, do one set of exercise 1, rest, and repeat until you've finished all the sets.

Do the same with 2. Then perform 3A and 3B as pairs, alternating between them as you did with the upper-body workout. Do the same for exercises 4A and 4B.

Low-rep workout: Complete five to eight repetitions of each exercise, resting 60 seconds between sets.

Upper body:

Lower body:

High-rep workout: Perform 12 to 15 reps in each set. For exercises 1 and 2, rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets. For 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B, rest 30 to 45 seconds between sets.

Upper body:

Lower body:

*Do just 1 set of the Swiss-ball plank

Days 1 and 3: Upper Body

1A Dumbbell bench press

On a flat bench, lie faceup holding a pair of dumbbells above your chest with your arms straight. Lower the dumbbells to the sides of your chest, and then push them back up to the starting position.

Press the dumbbells together without letting them touch.

1B Wide-grip pullup

Grab the bar with an overhand grip that's about one and a half times shoulder width, and hang at arm's length. Pull yourself up until your upper chest hits the bar. Pause and slowly lower yourself to the starting position.

Squeezing your shoulder blades emphasizes your back muscles.

2A Dumbbell push press

Stand holding a pair of dumbbells just outside your shoulders, your arms bent and palms facing each other. Bend your knees slightly to dip your body, and then push up with your legs as you press the dumbbells straight over your shoulders. Keep your torso upright throughout. Lower the dumbbells to the starting position, and repeat.

Don't let your elbows flare out to the sides as you perform the exercise.

2B Barbell bent-over row

Grab a barbell with an overhand grip that's just beyond shoulder width, and hold it at arm's length. Lower your torso until it's almost parallel to the floor. Let the bar hang at arm's length. Pull the bar to your upper abs as you squeeze your shoulder blades together. Pause, and slowly lower the bar back to the starting position. That's one rep.

Use a full range of motion by bringing the bar all the way up to your body.

Days 2 and 4: Lower Body

1 Barbell front squat

Cross your arms in front of your chest and rest a barbell on the front of your shoulders. Your elbows should be held high, with your upper arms remaining parallel to the floor as you perform the move. Set your feet shoulder-width apart. Push your hips back, and lower your body until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Pause, and push your body back to the starting position.

Stay on your heels and make sure you don't rise onto your toes as you press back up.

2 Barbell Romanian deadlift

Grab the bar with an overhand grip that's just beyond shoulder width, and hold it at arm's length in front of your thighs. Keep your knees slightly bent. With your lower back naturally arched, bend at your hips and lower your torso until it's parallel to the floor. Pause, and then rise back to the starting position.

As you lower the bar, keep it as close as possible to your body.

3A Swiss-ball hip extension and leg curl

Lie on your back with your lower legs on a Swiss ball. Extend your arms to your sides, palms up. Raise your hips so your body is straight from shoulders to knees. Pull your heels in, bringing the ball toward your butt. Pause for 1 second, and reverse the motion. Lower your hips to the floor and repeat.

As you pull your heels in, keep your hips elevated and your torso straight.

3B Jump squat

With your feet hip-width apart, squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor, and then jump as high as you can. Allow your knees to bend 45 degrees when you land, and then immediately drop back down into a squat, and jump again.

Perform this exercise as quickly as possible, to build explosive strength and power.

4A Swiss-ball plank

Place your forearms on a Swiss ball and raise your chest so your elbows are under your shoulders. Your legs should be extended behind you on the floor, and your body should form a straight line from ankles to head. Pull your shoulder blades back and down and brace your abs. Hold that position for 30 to 60 seconds. That's one set.

Keeping your upper back flat maximizes the effectiveness and safety of the exercise.

4B Swiss-ball jackknife

Start in pushup position (your hands set slightly wider than and in line with your shoulders), and rest your shins on a Swiss ball. Your body should form a straight line from shoulders to ankles. Roll the Swiss ball toward your chest by raising your hips and slightly rounding your back as you pull the ball forward with your feet. Pause, and then return the ball to the starting position by rolling it backward.

Don't allow your hips to sag at any point during the exercise.

by Alan Aragon, MS & Adam Bornstein for Men's Health via MSN Health & Fitness

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Sometimes you eat the bull and sometimes the bull gores you

2009-07-10T18:04:00.000-04:00

A Spanish man (Daniel Romero) has been gored to death by a bull during Pamplona’s annual running of the bulls. It is the first death in 15 years, since American Matthew Tassio was killed... but really not that much of a surprise if you think about it. You are pissing off a giant ass bull ... Romero took his chances by f_cking with a bull and that is his right.

In the end, this death is a reminder that the running of the bulls is an incredibly dangerous activity, but then again, that’s the point. If you baby proof any activity either for fear of death, injury, or because tourists can’t run, it takes away the thrill. Part of the rush of jumping out of the plane is the fear that your parachute may not open. The running of the bulls is going to continue in spite of this death, though some have called for their suspension.

by Jack Tomas via GUANABEE

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Oscar Mayer dies at 95

2009-07-08T17:20:00.006-04:00

First Ed, then Farrah, then Michael, then Billy, then Steve and now OSCAR MAYER?!

Oscar G. Mayer ’34, retired chairman of Oscar Mayer Foods and former business manager of The Sun, died on Monday at the age of 95.

Mayer’s wife, Geraldine, told The Associated Press that he died from complications of old age.

Mayer was the third generation to run the family meat business, which was started by his grandfather, Oscar F. Mayer.

Mayer was named president of Oscar Mayer Foods in 1955 and worked for a total of 41 years at the company. During his tenure, Mayer oversaw tremendous growth at the company, as it went national and implemented the iconic “Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener … ” campaign.

Mayer retired as chairman of the board of Oscar Mayer Foods in 1977, shortly after the company recorded its first $1 billion year, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Oscar Mayer is now a division of Kraft Foods.

Mayer served as business manager at The Sun from 1933 to 1934.

In addition, Mayer apparently held another title while at The Sun — that of softball star.

According to an article from May 16, 1932, Mayer was one of nine Sun staffers who competed in a pick-up softball game on Sage Green against Ithaca Journal staffers.

“Mayer turned in the best batting average, slugging some half dozen home runs in the course of the game,” which propelled The Sun to a 26-15 victory over The Journal, the article states.

Mayer lived in Madison, Wis. and was a “fierce guardian of Oscar Mayer’s reputation as a good corporate citizen” as well as an “active participant” in civic and charitable organizations, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Mayer was also a contributor to The Cornell Daily Sun Alumni Association.

by Michael Stratford via The Cornell Daily Sun

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I want... TW Steel XXL chronograph watch

2009-07-04T08:09:00.001-04:00

The new TW11 50mm [TW11] is now available.

Dimensions and Specifications

TW Steel XXL chronograph watch TW11

- 50mm case
- made of high grade steel (316L)
- precision quartz chronograph movement
- mineral crystal
- fast date adjustment
- genuine leather strap with red stitching
- 100 metre waterproof
- (2) year guarantee
- delivery in TW Steel box and warranty card

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via WatchXL

cool... iSkin fuze (case for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS)

2009-07-02T04:03:00.002-04:00

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via iSkin

cool... GrowShelter (a living, growing shelter for plants, animals, etc.

2009-07-01T19:59:00.001-04:00

Julia Molloy and Taka Sarui of Brooklyn design collaborative XLXS created the GrowShelter, a highly unique living environment where humans, plants and animals may co-exist. Consisting of three spherical shells embedded with seeds, the habitat is designed to evolve with the seasons - starting the cycle in spring, the spheres are embedded in a mixture of earth/mud/seed, and as summer approaches, the plants will be in bloom and the embedded food in the mud will create a mini haven for local animals and birds. The earth should weather away by fall and winter, leaving the permanent shells ready to be packed again for spring.

The shells of the GrowShelter are embedded into a 100 x 100 sq. foot space within the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, a 350-acre nature preserve near Philadelphia. Each shell is made out of lime mortar, which is 80% more environmentally friendly than regular mortar, formed around a reinforced frame, and embedded into a mixture of mud, seeds, nuts, and water. 18 species of Philadelphia native plants and flowers, along with birdseed ingredients, like peanuts, sunflower seeds, and corn, are planted in the growing layer of the shelter.

GrowShelter brilliantly lives up to its mission to "create space within an evolving and devolving living system, allowing the inhabitant to become more aware of the complexities and fluctuations in the natural environment." The shelter is the winner of the Schuylkill Environmental Education Center’s Sustainable Design/Build Competition. With their entry, XLXS answered the competition’s call for architects, artists and designers to demonstrate and promote new, unique, and inspiring approaches to sustainable design and building techniques.

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via Ginger Dolden for Inhabitat

I want... eco-shed / office / playroom / whatever

2009-06-30T10:20:00.002-04:00

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via DWELL OUTDOOR

I want... Embrio One-Wheel Motorcycle

2009-06-29T20:37:00.002-04:00

This hydrogen fuel cell powered, gyroscopically balanced, one-wheeled recreational and commuting vehicle provides an extraordinary vision of the kind of personal transport we could be using 20 years from now.

The design brief for Bombadier EMBRIO Concept was to "create highly innovative, functional and exciting products to exceed people’s recreational needs" and find the "next thing" in recreational vehicles. The result is a futuristic and minimalistic one-wheeler that is as about far away as you can get from the conventional image of a uni-cycle - a mode of transport normally associated with circuses and street parades.

Balancing Act

The riding position will be similar to a motorcycle with a complex series of sensors and gyroscopes balancing passengers on the single wheel. The rider activates a trigger on the left handlebar to accelerate and turns are made by shifting body-weight rather than actually steering.

When the EMBRIO concept is at rest in "stand-by configuration", the front wheels deploy to the ground like landing gear on a plane to increase longitudinal stability. The landing gear retracts when the vehicle speed reaches 20 km/h but even without the landing gear, the EMBRIO would be stable when motionless because of the gyroscope.

The EMBRIO concept’s main power source is a hydrogen fuel cell and additional advanced technologies including a high-performance braking system, active suspension, night vision, a digitally encoded key and robotic assistance would be incorporated into the design.

The Concept is constructed from lightweight materials including Polypropylene, Santoprene, nylon (injection moulding), aluminum (stamping, die casting and robotic assembly), magnesium (casting) and the use of fuel cell technology and recycling of aluminum and polyethylene is designed to make the Bombardier EMBRIO an eco-friendly design throughout its life cycle.

The Bombardier EMBRIO concept is one of several concepts proposed by Canadian based Bombardier Recreational Products and it received the Gold Award at the 2003 Annual Design Awards (Industrial Design Society of America & Business Week Magazine).

Dimensions and weight
48.75″ x 27.5″ x 47.5″ 360 lb
124 cm x 70 cm x 120 cm 164 kg

Content Links
Bombadier Recreational Products site

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via A Distinctive World

I want... TW Steel watch TW1 45mm [TW1]

2009-06-29T16:37:00.003-04:00

The new TW Steel TW1 45mm [TW1] CEO collection is now available.

Dimensions and Specifications

- 45mm case
- made of high grade steel (316L)
- precision quartz movement
- mineral crystal
- fast date adjustment
- genuine leather strap
- 10ATM waterproof
- 2 years guarantee
- delivery in TW Steel box and warranty card

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via WatchXL

Tim Burton's house in London?

2009-06-24T12:43:00.001-04:00

I want... Acer Aspire easyStore

2009-06-17T22:33:00.000-04:00

Nice to know Acer has named their latest ...

... Home Server configuration the Aspire easyStore without playing on the Aspire One name just like how Asus has diluted the Eee PC line. The Acer Aspire easyStore Home Server was specially designed for households and home-based businesses that have multiple PCs, making it a no-brainer effort to network home computers, centralize, share and protect digital data as well as access it remotely from virtually anywhere in the world as long as there is a decent Internet connection. It won't get in the way of the overall home decor as the easyStore measures 8.3" x 7.8" x 7.08", featuring cool blue LEDs that show off the current hard drive status. Underneath the handsome black bezel lies an Intel Atom 230 1.6GHz processor, 2GB RAM, a 1TB hard drive and three hot-swappable hard drive bays. You can bring one home today for $399.99.

via BusinessWire

PODER readers are influencial

2009-06-11T12:10:00.004-04:00

Click to enlarge...

Did You Know: The unique visitors of Esmas ...

2009-06-09T13:21:00.006-04:00

Click to enlarge...

I want... ODM Collection (SU101-1 3 touch digital)

2009-06-05T10:35:00.003-04:00

From the success of last season’s 3 Touch watch, a digital ...

... version has been designed for this season, using the same inspiring touch-screen technology. A red lens model has been added in this collection, like the all black model, when raging red is put together with the IP black watch case, it creates a vigorous aura and an eye-catching element for the users. The digital version presents a dynamic watch dial in the crown-less square case, boosting the uniqueness and masculinity to the extreme.

Specifications

Case: IP black SS case
Mechanism: o.d.m. digital watch
Water Resistance: 5 ATM
Strap / Chain: polyurethane strap
Color: black / silver

via o.d.m. design & marketing ltd.

ODM Collection | SU102-2 Sense

2009-06-05T09:48:00.002-04:00

The masculine cubic watch case is one of the main ...

... features of this inspiring collection. Metallic yet simple, the timepiece is highlighted by the well designed layered dial face and single winding crown at a distinctive degree that involves complicated mechanism technique. A 3D o.d.m. logo can be found by the side of the rectangle dial face, next to the big date indicator, emphasizing the uniqueness and touch of mechanism.

Specifications

Case: SS case
Mechanism: o.d.m. digital watch
Water Resistance: 5 ATM
Strap / Chain: polyurethane strap
Color: black / silver

via o.d.m. design & marketing ltd.

Zubi wins an Effie Award

2009-06-04T11:35:00.004-04:00

The Effies has announced that Zubi Advertising has won a Silver for its Ford SYNC Integrated Campaign ...

CORAL GABLES, Fla., June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Effies has announced that Zubi Advertising has won a Silver for its Ford SYNC Integrated Campaign in the Hispanic Category in the North American competition. The campaign, which features Grammy Award-winning Latin pop star Juanes, is Zubi's latest non-traditional, below-the-line campaign with a strong focus on digital.

"Effies have always been the gold standard to judge the success of a program," said COO Joe Zubi. "To win one during these challenging economic times makes it even more rewarding."

Developed by Microsoft, SYNC is a voice-activated in-car communication and entertainment system for a user's mobile phone and digital music player. Unlike other competitive voice-activated systems, SYNC's ability to understand various Spanish accents is key for the US Hispanic Market, where consumers have various countries of origin, and varying degrees of acculturation and language proficiency.

"Juanes was the perfect fit to launch SYNC in the Hispanic Market," said David Rodriguez, Ford multicultural marketing manager. "Staying connected to friends and music is part of everyday life for our tech-savvy Hispanic target, and SYNC brings this power to Ford drivers."

As official sponsor of Juanes' 2008 World Tour, Zubi developed a program with the Colombian singer-songwriter as the centerpiece to deliver the SYNC message to the marketplace, educate consumers about the product, and entice them to test-drive SYNC-equipped Ford vehicles at Ford dealerships. The program achieved a 30 percent conversion rate of qualified leads to test drives - 15 times the industry average.

The program included the following elements:

In-concert integration with "SYNC Zones" at every Juanes concert location

Destination website with exclusive video content and functionalities

Online sweepstakes with instant win trivia game and a VIP concert experience Grand Prize

A robust digital media plan including display banner ads, video-banners, paid search, and publisher-driven email blasts

Print advertising to support the in-concert and online activities

Spot radio in the high-Hispanic density tour stops

Talking billboards and text-messaging components

About Zubi Advertising

Zubi Advertising Services, Inc. is a full-service and independently owned Hispanic agency in the U.S. with a proven 36-year track record of award-winning U.S. Hispanic Market branding campaigns. Headquartered in Miami with offices in Detroit, Los Angeles and Dallas, Zubi Advertising has projected billings of $175 million in 2009. Zubi Advertising is proud to serve its extensive client list, which includes American Airlines, Ford Motor Company, JP Morgan Chase, Lincoln Mercury, Olive Garden, SC Johnson and Winn-Dixie among others. Zubi Advertising has grown organically to 122 employees who are dedicated to enhancing the image of the Hispanic culture and the advertising profession through their actions and work. For more information, please visit www.zubiad.com.

Media Contact:

via Zubi Advertising

Televisa Interactive Media and hi5 enter into a commercial and ...

2009-06-03T14:45:00.002-04:00

Televisa Interactive Media and hi5 Enter Into a Commercial and Video Distribution Agreement Reaching 33 Million Spanish Speakers Across Hispanic Latin America

MEXICO CITY--(Marketwire - June 3, 2009) - Televisa Interactive Media ("Televisa"), the online division of Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (NYSE: TV) (BMV: TLEVISA CPO), the leading Spanish-speaking media company in the World, and hi5 (www.hi5.com), the leading social entertainment website across Spanish-speaking Latin America and the 12th largest website in the world by page views, today announced a unique commercial arrangement to maximize their online audiences in the region.

As part of the deal, Televisa will be the exclusive representative of hi5's online advertising inventory in Hispanic Latin America and jointly the parties will launch a co-branded premium video channel for users of hi5, the popular social entertainment website in Latin America, serving a library of full and short length videos provided by Televisa, most of which are available through www.Esmas.com and through Televisa's vertical video site www.Tvolucion.com. The video channel will not be available to users in the United States. "The availability of this new video channel is scheduled for this summer with additional premium content delivered via micro-sites shortly thereafter."

Jointly, Televisa Interactive Media and hi5 sites reach more than 33 million unique users per month across Hispanic Latin America, which represent 63% of the total market. Internet usage in these countries is growing at a rapid pace of up to 16.6% last year according to Comscore, nearly triple the North American growth of 5.7% for that same year, according to the same source.

"hi5 is an ideal content and traffic extension that perfectly complements our best-in-class suite of promotional solutions for advertisers and brands in this region," said Juan Saldívar, General Manager of Televisa Interactive Media.

"This business relationship solidifies our leadership position in Latin America and delivers compelling content to our huge Spanish-language audience. Televisa's experienced sales team and deep industry relationships will help us maximize our revenue potential in the Latin American market," said Ramu Yalamanchi, Founder and Chief Product Officer at hi5.

About Grupo Televisa, S.A.B.

Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., is the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world and a major participant in the international entertainment business. It has interests in television production and broadcasting, production of pay-television networks, international distribution of television programming, direct to home satellite services, cable television and telecommunication services, magazine publishing and publishing distribution, radio production and broadcasting, professional sports and live entertainment, feature-film production and distribution, the operation of an internet portal, and gaming. Grupo Televisa also owns an unconsolidated equity stake in La Sexta, a free-to-air television venture in Spain.

About Televisa Interactive Media

Televisa Interactive Media is Televisa's digital business unit. Through this unit, Televisa hosts, publishes and commercializes most of Televisa's online brands. Televisa Interactive Media includes a horizontal portal, www.Esmas.com; a video vertical online destination, www.Tvolucion.com; a vertical online music brand, Tarabu, and the leading premium content supplier for mobiles in Mexico; Esmas Movil. With more than 18 million unique users and more than 320 million page views per month, Televisa Interactive Media is positioned as a leading news, entertainment and sports online operation in the Hispanic America.

About hi5 Networks

Headquartered in San Francisco, hi5 is one of the world's largest and fastest growing social entertainment sites. Our focus is on delivering a fun, interactive, and immersive social experience online to our users around the world. With over 63 million unique visitors every month, hi5 is a top 20 website globally and the number one social site in dozens of countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia. The service is available in over 50 languages, delivering localized content, games, and other applications to users worldwide. For more information on hi5, visit http://www.hi5.com.

via Marketwire

Bomb threat on Air France flight

2009-06-02T17:55:00.003-04:00

The airport safety delayed an Air France flight ...

The airport safety delayed an Air France flight this evening before departing for Paris immediately after the company received a bomb threat over the phone at the airport of Ezeiza.

The Federal Police, along the Firemen’s direction and the Airport’s Safety proceeded to inspect the plane, that arrived this morning from the French city and, after a brief stop, it was preparing to return.

The routine procedure lasted approximately one hour and a half and, as sources of the airport reported all the passengers are ok and they were not evacuated.

via Momento 24

Hillarious video of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen landing on Eminem’s lap (MTV Movie Awards - 2009)

2009-06-01T13:07:00.001-04:00

If you're a freelancer, in sales or ever sold anything, you'll love this

2009-05-29T09:29:00.000-04:00

[NEW] BlackBerry Onyx reviewed way before RIM ...

2009-05-28T16:36:00.003-04:00

Pre-release review time! Rumors of the BlackBerry device model with the codename "Onyx" have been floating around for a while now and were proven legit when the first photos of it surfaced ...

We don't know exactly what they're feeding the engineers up in Waterloo, but we're guessing it's a combination of Red Bull, NoDoz, and speed, because they appear to be working on about ten devices at once -- awesome news for anyone looking to pick up a new BlackBerry in the next 6 to 12 months. We've already seen the Onyx in the wild, but as a refresher, this puppy does UMTS (and we'd assume HSDPA as well), a 3.2 megapixel AF cam, an undoubtedly gorgeous 480 x 360 display, GPS, and WiFi in a body more svelte than the Bold's; now, CrackBerry's managed to score a unit and give it a quick once-over. All told the impression seems very positive, with the takeaway being that RIM has taken the best personality traits of the 8900 and 9000 series and stuffed it all into a single device. We're not necessarily expecting this one on the market any time soon -- AT&T just launched the 8900 a couple days ago, after all, and CrackBerry believes RIM could replace the trackball with a Gemini-style optical pad prior to launch -- but it's something to look forward to.

by Chris Ziegler for engadget via CrackBerry

I want... Apple iPhone 3G Privacy Screen Protector

2009-05-28T14:07:00.004-04:00

Protect your screen and your privacy with the Apple iPhone 3G Privacy Screen Protector!

Ever wonder how to keep prying eyes away, then check out the Apple iPhone 3G Privacy Screen Protector. Its got everything you need to keep your portable device in-style and at the same time, it screens your phone from random people from checking out whatever it is you are doing. So rest at ease knowing that the next time you're looking at stocks, Facebook, emails, and bank accounts that no one is minding your business!

Apple iPhone 3G Privacy Screen Protector features

Intelligent Design - Its purpose, is to block out the elements, protect against scratches, scrapes, and abrasions that harm your device's face

Easy - installation is a cinch: simply wipe the surface of fingerprints, dust, and scratches using the provided micro-fiber cloth, then apply the simple-to-stick screen protector

4-Dimensional Privacy - unlike coventional screen protectors, this screen shields off audience vision from multiple angles. Unless user's peripherals are directly aimed toward the screen, image will cease to show up creating the ultimate discreet atmosphere for the user

Greater Security - +/- 30 degrees tilt both horizontal and vertical compared to competitors at +/- 60 degrees

Reinforcement - this screen protector is crafted with the concept of "bold-ability", which is why with added ions to strengthen its material's bonds, you have one heck of a force field guarding that device's surface. Best part of it? Even if the protector does get scratched, no one can tell

Thickness - double the thickness equals double the protection which is precisely what the Universal Privacy Screen has done

Integrations - the screen protector is cut perfectly for Apple iPhone 3G

Package includes

1 x Privacy Screen Protector

1 x Micro-fiber cloth

Installation Video

Apple iPhone 3G Privacy Screen Protector: Order the Apple iPhone 3G Privacy Screen Protector today! Don't miss out on this great deal with free shipping. The Apple iPhone 3G Privacy Screen Protector is ready to be shipped within 24-48 hours.

Buy the Apple iPhone 3G Privacy Screen Protector today at AccessoryGeeks.com (FREE SHIPPING when you click here first).

via AccessoryGeeks.com

A great direct marketing piece / commercial

2009-05-27T09:30:00.001-04:00

Mexico erects statue to swine flu victim

2009-05-26T10:46:00.001-04:00

By Alex Alvarez | 26 May 2009, 9:45 AM

A Mexican sculptor is in the process of completing a statue honoring 5-year-old Edgar Hernandez, a boy thought to be the first person inflicted with swine flu during this year’s headline-grabbing outbreak. The statue will stand in a park in La Gloria, Mexico - a place many claim to be the flu’s epicenter.

Little Edgar was treated with antibiotics and fully recovered, a fact that Veracruz officials wager will be a sign of hope for others who habitually fornicate with pigs and then do not wash their hands. So far, about 90 people worldwide have died due to swine flu, many of whom had underlying health issues. Mexican officials say their quick actions helped stop the spread of the disease and limit casualties. Many Mexicans, however, feel ...

Keep reading...

Did You Know: Esmas / Televisa sites have a ...

2009-05-26T10:37:00.003-04:00

I want... H2O Audio iFR Sport Combo for iPhone

2009-05-22T18:03:00.002-04:00

Apple did pocket-scarce users a service with the iPhone, combining your iPod and your mobile phone into one handy device that’s perfect for those who would rather carry neither. iPhone-wielding sportsmen may want to consider H2O Audio’s iFR Sport Combo for iPhone ($30) for their hardcore athletic needs. The iFR is a hard-shell, shock-resistant covering for the iPhone that include a velcro-secured armband for transporting the case during exercise.

The iFR is no OtterBox Armor—neither waterproof (unlike H2O Audio’s other products) nor as tough—but it is a formidable, sturdy shield from the dangers of rugged adventures. The case is secured with a tiny lock screw at the bottom, and a thick plastic lid folds down to protect the phone’s screen. That protection, though, prevents you from actually using the controls; to remedy this, you’re able to swivel the lid and secure it behind the case, giving you full access to the iPhone’s screen and Home button. A removable, rubber cover protects the iPhone’s headphone jack, but removing and replacing it is as much of a nuisance as the cover is protective—most users will probably opt to just remove the cover permanently. At the top of the case is a tiny button to trigger the iPhone’s Sleep/Wake switch—so tiny, in fact, it was hard for me to press, and doing so is probably even more difficult for those with bigger fingers.

Aside from these few annoyances, the iFR itself is a solid case. Where it fails, however, is with the included armband. The case adds considerable bulk to the already-large iPhone, and the armband makes you feel like you’re running with a brick strapped your arm, limiting the benefits of the iFR to serious athletes who need the extra protection. In addition, the shell fits clumsily into the armband’s rubber holder—you have to really force it in and out, and the rubber warps and bends around the shell as if there wasn’t much effort put into its design. It’s also relatively difficult to hit the volume buttons and Ring/Silent switch when your iPhone is in the armband, forcing you to feel around, or even visually search, to find the buttons.

Ultimately, the iFR may be a good choice for rugged sports enthusiasts who constantly put themselves—and their poor iPhones—in harm’s way. But if all you want is a simple armband case for your daily jog and gym routine, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere.

by Dan Pourhadi (MacWorld.com)

What we know about the Apple Tablet

2009-05-21T17:26:00.003-04:00

by Michael Arrington on May 21, 2009

More evidence of the Apple Tablet surfaced today. We first wrote about the device at the end of last year when OEMs in China started hearing about the device. Details are still thin, although probably not because of a lack of leaks. Rather, Apple may still be locking down important specs like screen size.

We’d heard 7 - 9 inch screen size late last year, but today’s reports range up to 10 inches, which we’ve also heard from our sources as a possible size.

We don’t know what the final price point will be, but somewhere between $500 and $1,000 makes sense. We’ve also heard that the launch date was pushed from this Fall to early next year, and we’ve confirmed that significant human assets from the iPod and iPhone team have been dedicated to the project.

In other words, the project is very real.

The operating system is likely to be based on the iPhone OS, which is a derivative of the standard Mac OS X. Some app developers have seen underlying code that suggests a larger screen device is on the way.

That means the App Store is a big part of the Apple Tablet, and the device will be particularly useful for gaming.

What we don’t know - the final screen size or the core CPU, although 10 inches is likely as we said, and it wouldn’t be surprising for Apple to launch with the Samsung ARM11 chip in the iPhone or their own proprietary chip from P.A. Semi, a company they acquired in 2008.

It’s not inconceivable that Apple would build around an Intel dual core that is common in most laptops, although the power usage of those chips would mean adding so much battery weight that the tradeoff may be unacceptable.

But if you look at the Macbook Air, which is a dual core machine that’s just an inch thick, you can imaging a dual core Apple Tablet. The only problem there would be cost - that is a $2,000 machine.

Most of the discussion today around CPUs is power usage, not core computing horsepower. ARM and Atom chips compete in low end devices like mobile phones and netbooks. Neither are great for Internet browsing - Flash, particularly video, still doesn’t work properly on ARM. Intel’s Atom isn’t much better because it can’t handle full screen or HD Flash video without skipping. Atom chips are also 2-3x the cost of ARM 11 chips and use significantly more power. Apple actually underclocks their ARM11 chip to get more battery life out of the iPhone, which hurts performance.

This Will Be A Huge Hit

Our posts about the CrunchPad show how seriously consumers want a device like this. It is the perfect couch computing device and will create a whole new category of computers. Everyone so far has blundered along with tiny screens. Apple is going to get it right. The price point and production capacity in China will be the only limiting factors in the number of units they can sell, in my opinion.

Who WAS Confucius? / ¿Quién realmente era Confucius?

2009-05-12T17:05:00.002-04:00

Happy Mommy's Day!

2009-05-08T16:20:00.002-04:00

Happy Mommy's Day!

MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche (they don't have time to make it)

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox

Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids

Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of carpets

Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?' and get their answer when a little voice says, "Because I love you best!"

Real Mothers know that a child's growth Is not measured by height or years or grade... it is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot. A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, my mother doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's old-fashioned!

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart... the place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Please send this to 5 moms today. If you don't, nothing bad will happen but if you do, something good will! You'll boost a Mother's spirits.

Letter for kids (this should be posted in every school)

2009-05-06T17:34:00.005-04:00

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this!

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

An ideal audience for US advertisers

2009-04-20T18:37:00.004-04:00

The myth of big salaries (it's all marketing)

2009-03-23T10:39:00.003-04:00

Posted by Seth Godin on March 23, 2009

The failed bankers on Wall Street have been whining that if they have to cut bonuses and salaries dramatically, they'll be unable to recruit great talent, and they need great talent to fix the situation.

And for years, boards have been claiming that they need to pay CEOs $50,000,000 salaries in order to recruit the very best for their companies.

Jamie Dimon at Chase said, "It's possible someone's going to walk in my office and say, Jamie, I have a family. I can't afford to live that way."

This, of course, is nonsense.

After a million dollars or so in salary, the absolute amount that a person is paid has no real impact on their life. They can't eat more meals in a day or wear more shoes. What matters to the manager is the relative amount. How much more would I make over there? Why does that company pay its CEO more than my company pays me?

(Aside: should the guys who drive an armored car that carries millions of dollars in bonds get paid more than the guys that drive an armored car that only carries thousands of dollars in cash? Does the amount of money handled change the difficult of the work?)

Twenty years ago, financial industry salaries were a tiny fraction of what they are today. Did lesser people do the work? Did they try less hard? Think smaller thoughts? Of course not. The reasons salaries are high is that the number is a signaling mechanism, a very expensive marketing campaign.

Law firms went through this cycle twenty years ago. The top firms competed with each other to recruit a too-small pool of talent from the top law schools. Unable to muster up even a mite of marketing insight, they chose to compete on only one axis: salary. So, 24 year olds were given jobs at $120,000 a year, when their peers from college were making 20% of that. The firms could have found great people at half the price, except that with only one axis, they had to be at the top if their peers were.

If you were a law student, the choice was easy. Either you got a job at a firm that proved its worth by paying a lot or you didn't. You didn't have to know anything about the firm, apparently, other than the fact that they were top tier, and the way you knew that was because they paid a lot.

Hence the current situation with CEOs and bankers. There's no real effort made to market the jobs, just to race to the top (or the bottom, depending on your point of view) with the easiest marketing signal of all. Price. Yes, it's exactly the same as a retailer trying to improve business by being the cheapest.

In addition to this being a huge (!) waste of money, it's also provably false as an accurate portrayal of what's necessary to recruit. For every great job at Goldman Sachs, there are still 1,000 totally qualified applicants waiting for that job. So, when demand is high and supply is low, the power goes to the supplier. Lower the salary until you get just a few qualified applicants, right?

This moment in our economic cycle is a great opportunity for shareholders and taxpayers to let the organizations we own and support know that wasting money on this sort of marketing is silly. Just as an industry-wide gas standard would have actually helped Detroit twenty years ago, an industry-wide tax and trade salary cap will actually help these organizations. They'll be forced to recruit with useful marketing techniques (I'd rather work at an innovative, fast-moving, respectful company, given the choice...so the companies would have to make a better 'product,' not just pay a lot as a result of financial engineering).

[I think performance pay is great, risk should be rewarded and stock options are just fine. I also think it's fine for risk-takers and skilled pros to make a ton of money. I'm mostly talking about guaranteed bonuses which aren't bonuses at all, just a bribe to sign on and stay on.]

Sometimes markets get stuck because there is a disconnect between what something costs and what you get. It costs the individuals on the board of a public company nothing to pay more, they get bragging rights and a CEO who is focused on money. And that works until the next board leapfrogs them. The boards themselves should be lobbying to end this practice, but they won't because... guess what... the folks on the boards are the CEOs of other companies. It's stuck.

If you are a relentless free market believer, more power to you. If your company is private, pay yourself a trillion dollars a year, fine with me. In fact, we need more private companies that innovate and pay their staff a ton. But if you're owned by shareholders or bailed out by taxpayers, wasting trillions of dollars because you don't have the guts to market your jobs properly is silly.

Via Seth's Blog.

World’s deadliest spider found on Whole Foods bananas

2009-03-18T16:38:00.004-04:00

18 March 2009, 12:44 PM. By Cindy Casares

An employee in a Tulsa, Oklahoma Whole Foods grocery store found a Brazilian Wandering Spider–the world’s deadliest spider–on some bananas. Our first reaction is: They have a Whole Foods in Tulsa? Oh and, yikes, that sounds dangerous.

Living up to at least half of its name, the Brazilian Wandering Spider apparently wandered over on a shipment from Honduras. The employee was able to capture the little guy in a glass and it was handed over to University of Tulsa Animal Facilities director Terry Childs who says, “This type of spider kills more people than any other.” He also says a bite will kill a person in about 25 minutes and, while there is an antidote, he doesn’t know of any in the Tulsa area. Yet another reason to move from Tulsa.

Whole Foods says spiders are routinely found on produce which is why they inspect their shipments and that is how this one was found. This is totally making us reevaluate the health benefits of keeping produce in our diet.

Via Guanabee.

Is the new 'Dora the Explorer' doll too sexy?

2009-03-18T09:45:00.003-04:00

Mar 17, 2009, 07:00 AM | by Jennifer Armstrong
Categories: ShePop

Seems moms across the Internet got all whipped up about a new tween Dora the Explorer doll, mostly based on a "teaser silhouette" that Nickelodeon and Mattel released early to generate excitement about the new product. Oops: While there was plenty of excitement, it was more of the "How dare they turn our beloved-if-squeaky heroine into a little hussy?" variety. Yes, from the mysterious outline, the little gal known for her bowl cut and talking backpack appeared to have sexed up quite considerably between the ages of six-ish and 10-ish, with tons of long, flowing hair and a micromini.

But now the kids' channel and toy company have assuaged the masses with a fully detailed rendering of the doll (pictured), complete with tunic and leggings. Turns out that's a long shirt as opposed to a short dress. Phew. (Her hair really is fabulous, but a girl can't help what she's got, can she?) Furthermore, the corporate powers reassure us that our gal (who connects to a computer USB port for interactive games) "will expand into the world of solving mysteries that have overt and relatable pro-social themes -- like volunteerism, water conservation, or planting trees to help the environment." If she's really going to do all that, we can't help but like this idea. (In fact, we're kind-of reevaluating what it is we do with our free time....) And here's to hoping she stays away from those tarty Bratz dolls -- you know that's really what had all these moms so jumpy.

What do you think of the new Dora the Explorer? Is she too grown up or a perfectly good role model? And more importantly: Do you like her leggings?

Via Entertainment Weekly.

Consultants Colton and Bernard commit double suicide

2009-02-20T12:45:00.003-05:00

Roy Colton, 67, and Harry Bernard, 78 -- whose fashion and retail consultancy clients included Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, Fruit of the Loom, VF, Levi Strauss, Gap, Ocean Pacific and Perry Ellis -- committed double suicide on Feb. 7. Their bodies were found in the San Francisco apartment they shared. They had been life partners for 43 years, as well as business partners.

Friends and colleagues say the two may have been planning the suicide for some time because of health issues, Lisa Lockwood and David Moin report. Operations of the company have ceased, according to its Web site, which notes that there will be no memorial service. Contributions may be made in their memory to the charity of the donor's choice, it says.

Colton and Bernard recruited top executives and other managers, but their services also involved consumer research, brand building, management assessments and market analysis. Colton was the firm's president and CEO; Bernard was EVP and CMO. "They formed a relationship with you," Dawn Robertson, president of Sean John and former president of Old Navy, tells WWD. "They were warm, wonderful guys, and great communicators."

Read the whole story at Women’s Wear Daily.

Affordable kitchen implements designed by Karim Rashid

2009-02-20T12:38:00.001-05:00

California-based Slice has a new line of four kitchen implements designed by Karim Rashid: A precision cutter, vegetable peeler, Y-peeler, and grater.

All four use ceramic blades (which can't rust and will never go dull), are finished in a non-slip grip, and all bear the sci-fi Karim Rashid aesthetic. Best of all, they range from only seven to fifteen bucks a pop.

Via dvice

Nice packaging

2009-02-19T15:04:00.003-05:00

Minotauro: mitad monstruo, mitad auto

2009-02-19T15:03:00.001-05:00

Categorías: AutoNews / Curiosidades / Tuning

19-02-2009
Alejandro Abondano

La mítica definición de Minotauro se refiere a un monstruo con cuerpo de toro y tronco de humano. Algo así es este auto creado en Inglaterra, que más bien es mitad monstruo y mitad auto. Vision Sportscar es una empresa dedicada a crear autos raros, o modificarlos de manera diferente, y el Minotaur cumple con las expectativas al 100%.

El chasis es genérico, no ha sido tomado directamente de ningún auto, pero tampoco es creado enteramente por Vision Sportscar. Es de tamaño similar a un Mazda MX-5, e incluso su vocación -de roadster- intenta cumplir el objetivo de divertir a su dueño ofreciéndole un manejo confortable bajo el sol.

Pero el Minotauro va más allá. La carrocería, hecha con retazos de autos (por ejemplo, el conjunto óptico pertenece al aftermarket de un Peugeot 206) pesa 2.500 libras, y es animado por un propulsor Chevrolet V8 de 350 HP. Ciertamente, su inofensiva y llamativa estética, no demuestra la cantidad de equinos. Sobre el resultado, júzgalo tu mismo en la fotogalería adjunta.

Posted via email from ivanivan's posterous

IMSA Gallardo GTV: Gran Toro Volador

2009-02-19T14:56:00.003-05:00

Tags: lamborghini, imsa, gallardo, gtv

Bautizado como Gallardo GTV, al salvaje V10 que lleva en las entrañas le aplicaron un poco de magia para dejarlo con resoplantes 600 HP, una ganancia de 80 cuacos sobre el normal.

El kit es bastante discreto, de hecho, el alerón y un splitter de fibra de carbono son los únicos elementos que le dicen al ojo entrenado que no está viendo un Gallardo más.

De hecho, con la nueva suspensión, más baja y dura, las llantas apenas y se ven. Lo cua no es de extrañar con los rines de brazos dobles que esconden frenos más potentes con cálipers de 8 pistones adelante y 6 atrás.

Por dentro, es todo aluminio, cuero y fibra de carbono, combinados totalmente al gusto del cliente.

SEO for Lead Generation - How-To Kit, Cartoon, Survey Data

2009-02-19T10:25:00.002-05:00

Welcome to a special issue of the HubSpot newsletter, focused on how to use search engine optimization (SEO) to get found by more visitors and generate more leads online for your business.

In this issue:

* Free Search Engine Optimization for Lead Generation Kit - Kit includes 3 how-to videos and an instructional e-book with all the basics for using SEO to generate leads.

* Cartoon: Overcoming Tradeshow Depression - Is this how you're spending your marketing dollars?

* The State of Inbound Marketing Report - Survey data shows SEO as a best marketing practice.

Free Search Engine Optimization for Lead Generation Kit

The Internet has profoundly transformed the way people learn about and shop for products. Ten years ago, companies reached their consumers through trade shows, print advertising, and other traditional marketing methods. Download the SEO for Lead Generation Kit to learn how to get found online in search engines to generate more leads for your business. Kit includes 3 how-to videos and an instructional e-book:

Download the Free Kit

Cartoon: Overcoming Tradeshow Depression

State of Inbound Marketing Report Reveals SEO as a Best Marketing Practice
What are the most effective marketing programs businesses have performed in the past year to drive sales leads? For our "State of Inbound Marketing" report, we asked respondents for the best marketing programs they've done to drive leads and sales over the past year. Respondents named 'Blog', 'Website', 'SEO' as best marketing practices. Download the full PDF report for more interesting data.

When is Valentines Day?

2009-02-11T11:14:00.003-05:00

Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.^[1] The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States.^[2]

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend in average twice as much money as women.^[3]

...by the way, it's the 14th of February every year!

Re-Post: I'm grateful for ...

2009-02-11T10:19:00.002-05:00

I am grateful for [forgotten] debit cards.

Feeling unproductive and with the preconception that everything was going to go wrong today, I decided to treat myself to breakfast... then as I parked I remembered my wife had my [wallet]; then I remembered I had cash in my car and my debit card for an account I hardly ever use. I got to have my cortadito and tequeños! I'm grateful for this morning turning around because come to think of it, I'm a pretty lucky person...

Are you kidding me? I'm considering moving up to the mountains!

2009-02-09T18:19:00.001-05:00

2moto’s $4,250 RadiX Kit Plus Dirt Bike Equals Snowbike

Posted: 08 Feb 2009 01:03 AM CST

Winter brings with it all the beauty of a great snowstorm that leaves the streets and countryside covered with snow. That gives you just the right excuse to pack up a good snowball and chuck it at your neighbour, but if you’re a big kid then you would play dirty in style and take out your snowmobile.

Then again you may not have a snowmobile to impress the neighbours with and all you have is an old bike that wouldn’t be of much use during the months of snow. Or so you thought. With the RadiX Kit by 2moto, you can turn any old bike into, well, a snowbike. All it takes is replacing the front wheel of the bike with a solo ski and the back wheel with a ‘curved-paddle’ track design. Installing the RadiX Kit is easy enough and any amateur can do it in about 2 and half hours, so get yourself one at $4,250.

Once your bike is pimped up with the RadiX Kit, it can hit a top speed of 92mph and perform jumps and some mean wheelies also. 2moto is set to sponsor the world’s first snowbike race event at the 44th annual McCall Winter Carnival.

Via: OhGizmo/GizMag